


Millions of Stars Burning Just Out of Reach

by CaptainLeBubbles



Category: RWBY
Genre: Arranged Marriage, M/M, Nobility, Pretentious Title
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 13:58:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 41,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6081939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainLeBubbles/pseuds/CaptainLeBubbles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The kingdoms of Atlas and Vale need to strengthen their alliance, and so Atlas sends many of its eligible young nobles to Vale in the hopes of securing a few matches. Among them is James Ironwood, a young Hunter with a great deal to gain by a match with Glynda Goodwitch, a newly titled huntress. However, not long after arrival, James begins an affair with a servant named Qrow, and as their dalliance drags on, James begins to fall for Qrow in earnest.</p><p>James tries his best to put his focus on Goodwitch, but Qrow is a distraction he's not entirely dedicated to ridding himself of. Meanwhile, there are whispers of discontent in the city, and James and Qrow are pulled into the midst of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In Which Tai Begins to Regret His Life Choices

**Author's Note:**

> I really like arranged marriage stories, don't judge me.
> 
> Please note that this au is _more or less_ Remnant, I've merely rearranged the government structures and some of the huntsman stuff to suit my necessary setting. The rest is more or less the same.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The players are introduced, and the maneuvering begins. Also, James and Qrow begin their dalliance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit for the chapter title goes to Snowy, because it was too cute to resist.

o/o

“Have you everything you need, James?”

“Yes, Mother.”

“Go through your luggage and check. I don’t want you getting to Vale and finding your man failed to pack something. Have you got all of your tools? Your maintenance kit?”

“Yes, Mother. And yes, I packed those myself to be sure.”

“Got your pistols? Extra ammo?”

“Mother…”

“Fresh underwear?”

“ _Mother_.”

Her eyes just twinkled up at him mischievously. “I’m just making sure. Come.” She turned and swept away haughtily, not bothering to make sure he was behind her. When you’re the matron of the Ironwood family, you don’t bother making sure people do as you tell them- you just expect it to be done, and it is. He followed.

“Now, Daddy and I have prepared a folder with information on your prospective brides and grooms. Come into the study and we’ll go over them together. Any one of them would be a good match, of course, but some will be better than others. We particularly like the look of a young huntress who came into title last year; she has an estate near the capitol. Small, but it will give our family a firm foothold in Vale and no doubt the girl will be looking for an alliance to secure her title. She’s the one we want you to focus on- can you do that, dear?”

“Of course, Mother.” He followed her into the study, where his father was already pulling up several holoscreens, all with the credentials of various minor- and some major- nobles of Vale. James stood at attention while his parents went through each one, listing the pros and cons of making a match with them. By the time they’d gone through the list- an extensive one- his back ached on the living side, and the cybernetic side was pulsing in sympathy. It was with relief that he was dismissed to go to his room, with orders to double check his luggage and go through the potentials once more. At least he could sit down for that.

His parents had transferred the files to his scroll, the potentials divided into three lists, ‘preferred’, ‘acceptable’, and ‘if you run out of options’, but James had made his own lists as well, selecting the potentials that he thought looked promising to him. He was the one who would have to share his life with them, after all- share the political responsibilities, the spare time, the raising of children- and he knew that the mean-faced Winchester and the flighty-eyed Arc, though both in his parents’ ‘preferred’ folder, would not be for him. The focused look of Lavender, on the other hand, appealed to him, for all that his parents had listed her as a last resort, as her title was too minor to give them any real influence in Vale.

He at least agreed with them over Goodwitch, though. Her stern expression had been softened by kind eyes, and her record held well- a match with her, at least judging by her credentials, would suit both his parents and himself. That she was beautiful helped; that she preferred women and was only willing to bear children through artificial insemination were bonuses. It wasn’t like he had any other options to offer her, anyway, his reproductive organs having been lost with the rest of his right side. It was good to know that when it came time to produce heirs, there would be no problem with going through alternate means to achieve them.

He went through his luggage when he’d finished making his own folder, separate than his parents'. Everything was there, including his tools and his maintenance kit, his pistols and ammo, and fresh underwear. He smiled, and added a few more pairs for good measure- it would make Mother happy, anyway.

o/o

Qrow lounged in his recliner while Tai paced in front of him, listing off names and titles rapid-fire. He was trying to list the best potential matches, the ones that would suit both his and their family to wed, but his nerves were getting the better of him. Qrow couldn’t blame him. They’d been assuming for years that he would marry Raven, quite possibly the best match in the entire kingdom, being the heir and all, but ever since she had disappeared the betrothal had been declared null and Tai’s parents had begun to pressure him into finding a new partner.

“I wish Raven would come back,” Tai said, taking a seat in the other recliner. Qrow snorted.

“You and me both, buddy. But! We can’t do anything about that right now. Don’t worry, you’ll make a good match with someone. And maybe if you announce that you’re looking it’ll get Raven to come back and that’ll be sorted out.”

“You think?” Tai looked hopeful, so Qrow didn’t give voice to his real thought, which was ‘no fucking way, if Raven wants to be gone she’s going to be’, and instead reached over to give Tai’s shoulder a squeeze.

“It doesn’t hurt to try. I want her back as much as you, you know. I was really liking being the spare- way less responsibility than being the heir, you know?”

“As if you hold to any of those responsibilities,” Tai chided. “You haven’t shown up to a single event since Raven disappeared- people are starting to say _you’ve_ disappeared, too!”

Qrow waved that away without concern. “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “I’ll turn up when I get ready- I don’t feel like being in the public eye, that’s all. And to be honest, that’s probably why Raven left. It’s a lot of pressure, and she hated all the responsibility.”

“Not going to look for anyone among the prospectives?”

“Should I?” Qrow shrugged. “When everyone gets ready to find me a match they’ll take care of it. Until then I’ll just play the good little host- or just not bother turning up for stuff, as usual.” He shrugged. “Whatever.”

“If you say so,” Tai said, a little dubious. “But it’s worth it to look, anyway.”

Qrow said nothing, merely waved his hand in disgruntlement.

o/o

“There’s no need for you to make a match this time,” Ozpin said, while Glynda glowered. “Just go and enjoy the festivities. Get to know some of your fellow nobles. You’ve quite a while before they begin breathing down your neck to marry, and in that time events like this will be a good chance to rub a few elbows. It’s not expected that everyone who comes will leave with a husband or wife on their arm, you know.”

“I know.” Glynda leaned back and sighed. “You’ve told me already.”

“Then what has you so on edge?”

“I don’t know. The whole idea of this? This isn’t the world I was born into, Ozpin,” Glynda said, sitting up to eye her old mentor. “I was raised with the idea that when I married, it would be for love- _romantic_ love,” she added, when Ozpin opened his mouth, no doubt to remind her that it was encouraged that nobles foster friendship between one another before making a political match. “If you’d told me _before_ you sent me to kill that dragon that this would be my reward, I’d have… I’d have…”

She trailed off, there, because she and Ozpin both knew that the end of that sentence was ‘…done it anyway’. Glynda had not become a huntress for fame, glory, reward, or any other selfish motive. She had become a huntress for one reason: to keep people safe. She stood, then, and started pacing, heels clicking on the hard floor of Ozpin’s study. It always amazed him that she could fight in those. He’d tried wearing heels once- he’d nearly broken his neck.

“Anyway, I’ve organized the prospectives,” he said, pulling up a set of holo screens. “You are under no pressure, of course- but it will still help to know which ones will benefit you and which ones will not. These six are your best options- they will give you a foothold in Atlas and their wealth and power will combine well with yours.”

Glynda looked the list over. Ozpin had selected four women and two men- the two men she mentally dismissed; Arc had a kind smile and Ironwood’s eyes were gentle, but she had no interest in them. She knew there was no need for political marriages to have a romantic or even sexual bond- that outside lovers were not only common, but encouraged- but all the same, she was still hoping that perhaps she might find love after all.

Ozpin left her with the files- filled with notations about things that, had she grown up in this world, she would have caught herself- and sent her on her way to finish getting ready. She grumbled as she left, but she really was grateful- Ozpin had trained her since she was young, had taught her everything about being a huntress, and when she’d been rewarded for her achievements with a title and land, he’d been right there to guide her through the new world she found herself in, too.

She owed him a lot.

That didn’t make him less annoying.

In her room, Glynda settled back in front of a fire and began going through the files herself, looking more closely than she had been able to with Ozpin. She began making her own list as she did, studying the many women on the guest-list who seemed like she would like them. One in particular caught her eye, a small woman with silver eyes. She pulled up the credentials for that one and looked closer.

“Summer Rose,” she read. “I think I’ll be having a chat with you.”

o/o

The welcome banquet for the various young nobles was in full swing. Dinner would not be served for another hour; they were expected to take this time to mingle. James had spoken with a few of his fellow potentials, and had already mentally rearranged his lists- Arc, though flighty in appearance, seemed more shrewd than James had expected; he was moved onto the maybe list. Winchester, by contrast, treated the other nobles as beneath him, and was moved solidly to the 'definitely not' list. James would not marry anyone who looked at him like a tool or a pawn, his titles be damned.

Lavender, as predicted, was controlled, steady, and, from what little he saw of her, unflappable. He moved her up on his list. He was sure he could make a match with her work, if he must.

But his main target was Goodwitch. He was able to meet her eventually, as they both stopped by the bar to get a fresh drink. He gave her his warmest smile and leaned back on the bar while he greeted her. He mentally ran over her files, looking for the best way to open this first meeting, and his grin grew wider as he remembered why she had been given her title.

“Dragonslayer,” he said. “That's what they're calling you, isn't it?”

“I prefer Glynda,” she said. Her voice was hard, solid, it brooked no argument. That could be a good or a bad thing, depending on how she used it. She took her drink from the bartender and looked him over. Her eyes were an improbable green that gave off the impression that she could see right into him. “Ironwood, right?”

“That's right.” He took his own drink and sipped it delicately, eyeing her over the top of his glass. “I prefer James.”

"James, then."

“This is your first time at one of these, isn't it?” he asked. She had come into her title last year; it was unlikely she'd attended one sooner. No doubt her past year was spent in being taught the nuances of nobility- or out slaying more dragons. He rather suspected the latter, if he was honest.

“It's not exactly something I have experience with, no,” she said dryly.

He laughed softly. “We all have to start somewhere. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“My mentor has filled me in on everything, thanks.”

Prickly. James twirled his drink. “When was the last time your mentor was sent to a festival for the sole purpose of securing a mutually beneficial political marriage?” She stiffened at that; he smiled. “I'm only offering my help.”

“Out of the goodness of your heart? Or because you think we'd make a good match?”

“Both,” he admitted. He suspected frankness was best with this woman; he would gain no footing if he tried to deflect. “My parents and I agree that you would be a beneficial match for me, and believe that I would be just as beneficial for you. But even if that weren't true, or if you told me right now that I had no chance, I would still be willing to help you.”

“Is that so.” She pursed her lips and stared up at the ceiling for several minutes in thought, then downed the last of her drink and turned to him. “I have absolutely no intention of marrying you,” she said. “I want to marry for love, but even if I can't fall in love, I would at least like to marry someone I'm compatible with, and that won't be you. I was only sent here as a chance to meet and befriend my fellow nobles, and don't expect to leave here with an engagement under my name. If you spend your time pursuing a match with me, you'll be wasting time that you could be using to pursue a willing match. Now.” She folded her arms. “Still interested in helping me?”

Yes, frankness had been a good choice. Maybe she wasn't interested in a match, but he liked her all the same. If nothing else, he wanted her as an ally. He sipped down the last of his own drink, and smiled at her. “I said I would, didn't I?”

o/o

Once the young nobles were led in for dinner, Tai found himself sat between a tall Atlesian man and a small woman with silver eyes. The man he recognized as Ironwood- a good match, he knew, and he'd be sure to engage with the man at some time during the dinner. Tai knew from his credentials that he came from a good family, good title, good reputation, and he knew from his personal files that the man was dependable. A powerful hunter as well, if Tai remembered right.

The woman came as a loss- he'd never seen her, and he didn't recall her in any of his files either- oh, wait, yes he had. She was another titled Huntress, only in the nobility for a month and no doubt sent at the last minute. Her land was a tiny stake in Patch, with no political significance, her title was minor and just as insignificant. He couldn't even remember what it was that had gained her that title- in fact... if he remembered correctly, there were no details at all.

That, in itself, was enough to get his attention. He turned to her so he could introduce himself.

“I'm Tai,” he said. “Taiyang Xiao Long.”

“Summer Rose,” she said, turning and smiling up at him.

Her smile hit him like an uppercut- she was stunningly beautiful- and her eyes...

Tai's ears burned; he turned to his food as it was placed in front of him, just for something to look at that wasn't those eyes. “You're- ah, that is, as I understand it you're newly titled.”

“That's right,” she said, turning to her own food. “In fact I was only sent here for a chance to get to know my fellow nobles. They squeezed me onto the guest list at the last minute and I've been told it will be best to wait until I've learned more before I go trying to make a match, because I may not make an advisable one.”

“Sound advice. What do you think?”

“I think coming to a festival with no pressure on me is a wonderful idea, and I'm looking forward to enjoying myself.”

“That's a good way to look at it,” Tai agreed. He'd always enjoyed these sorts of things, when he'd gone with Raven.

“And you?” she asked. “How are you doing since your betrothal was broken?”

Tai swallowed. Of course that information would be in his file, but- he hung his head. “Not- not really well,” he admitted. “Raven was one of my best friends- I miss her.”

“I'm sorry to hear that.”

Her voice sounded so gentle. Tai's ears burned. How could someone so small and dainty be a Huntress, particularly one strong enough to land a title, even such a minor one?

He would have to get to know her better, he thought. He wanted to know more about her.

o/o

All in all, James considered the welcome banquet to be a success. He'd managed to make several connections, many of them potential matches, and just as many would make good alliances in the future, when he came into his family's title. And Glynda... he smiled despite himself at the thought of her. He liked Glynda. She was interesting, she was commanding, she was strong- she was no doubt an amazing huntress, an accomplished teacher, and he knew that, with time, she would take the nobility by storm. And by the Maidens, he wanted to be there to watch her do it. Even if he couldn't make a match with her- and he held hope, but a small one, that he might- then he would at least make an alliance with her. It would be better than to make her an enemy, anyway. That much was apparent.

The only downside to the night, James thought as he entered his assigned quarters, was that the prince hadn't made an appearance. Hosting these events was meant to be among his duties, but according to some of the others, he rarely appeared at them, preferring to run things from the background. This was disappointing: James' parents had told him to try to make a good impression on the prince, on the grounds that it could only help to be on the good side of the royal family.

“Ah well,” he told his empty room. “I'm sure I'll get a chance to meet the prince at some point while I'm here.”

“I wouldn't count on it,” his empty room said back, and then, “Holy fuck, put that thing away!”, because when James had spotted the intruder he'd reached for his pistol without thinking. He couldn't help it: he'd been trained as a huntsman, and it was instinct. He lowered his pistol slowly, eyeing the man in his room.

Lean and lanky, long-limbed; tall, but not as tall as James, who had almost a head on him. Spiky black hair that a part of James noted absently would be pleasantly fluffy without all that product in it (not that James had room to talk) and red eyes, and the strong smell of alcohol clinging to him. His eyebrows were somewhere near his hairline, but lowering slowly, his hands held up defensively. James put his pistol away.

“What are you doing in my room?” he demanded.

The man was still breathing heavily. “Do you always draw your gun on people?!”

“I do when they're in my room when they shouldn't be,” he said. “What are you doing in here?”

The man eyed him, then lowered his hands. Now that James' pistol was put away, he seemed to relax almost immediately, dropping into a flippant stance and shoving his hands into his pockets. “Hiding,” he said.

“In my room? How did you even get in here?”

“You left your window open.” He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder; the window was hanging open to the night. James frowned.

“Perhaps I should throw you back out of it, then,” he said. He was sure it'd be fine- there were trees outside the windows. “Who are you hiding from?”

“Everyone. I was supposed to work the banquet tonight. Didn't want to, so I found somewhere to hide. And your window was open.”

A servant, then. And one who was apparently shirking his duties. James frowned. “You should leave.”

“Nah.” He folded his hands behind his head. “If I go now I'll get a talking to about neglecting my duties. I'll just stay here, if it's all the same to you.”

“It's _not_ all the same to me,” James said, following as the man wandered over to his bed and flopped onto it. “I have work to do, and I don't want to be caught harboring you when you are eventually found.”

“Don't worry, you won't get in trouble. And I won't interfere with your work, either. I'll be quiet as a crow.”

“Crows aren't quiet.”

“Sometimes they are.” He lounged back on the bed, stretching his legs out in front of him and leaning back against James' pillows. “So what was that you were saying about the prince when you came in?”

“What?” James was baffled by the change of subject; perhaps that was why he answered. “I was hoping to meet him, and form a connection with him.”

“Oh, _politics_.” The man waved his hand. “How boring- but don't hold your breath, he never turns up at things. Not that you're missing anything- he's a real asshole, you know?”

James furrowed his brow. “You shouldn't speak of the royal family in such a way.”

“I don't think he'll mind,” the man said, waving his hand again, and then, “Wanna fool around?”

“ _What?!_ ”

“Well, I don't have anything better to do, and you probably don't either, let's be honest. I'm hot, you're handsome, seems like a pretty good way to kill time. Hmm?”

He raised a questioning eyebrow at James, who was staring at him, mouth open. He closed it, and it fell open again: he could think of nothing to say for several minutes. The man just stayed there watching him, a hopeful gleam on his eye, accompanied by a smirk.

“That was highly inappropriate,” he finally said.

“I dunno, I thought I made it a pretty straightforward offer,” the man said. “What's the problem?”

“Do you want the short version, or the comprehensive list?” James asked. “We'll start small- I don't even know your name.”

The man's gaze flickered out the window for a moment, before flicking back to James. “Qrow,” he said.

James followed his gaze, seeing the movement of the flocks of crows, ravens, rooks, and jackdaws that the royal family kept on the grounds. His eyes narrowed with disbelief. “Right,” he said. “'Qrow'. Moving on to reason number two...”

Reason number two never came. The man- Qrow- had pushed to his feet and ambled over in front of him. His hands were shoved into his pockets, his shoulders slouched forward while he tilted his head back to look up at James. He looked, bizarrely, a bit like a crow himself, like this, and the part of his mind that had noticed how fluffy Qrow's hair would be noted now that his lips looked very kissable and really, there was no harm in it. He was allowed affairs with _others'_ servants, just not the ones that he was directly responsible for their livelihood. That was how it worked, right?

It didn't sound right, but it was hard to think with Qrow staring up at him like that, so close to his personal space. Finally James brought his hand up and cupped the back of Qrow's neck, tugging him upward into a kiss. He tasted of alcohol, but not so much that James was forced to question his sobriety. All the same, it tended to be a good idea. “You're okay with this?” he said. “You've been drinking.”

“I have a pretty high tolerance,” Qrow said. Something was glittering in his eye, now, something unidentifiable. “You're good to ask, but I'm fine. Fully able to consent to a lovely night of being fucked into the mattress by a hot Atlesian noble.”

It was enough. James dragged him into another kiss, while Qrow made needy noises into his mouth and looped his arms around James' neck, hauling himself up to wrap legs around James' waist in one fluid motion. James brought his hands up to cup Qrow's ass, holding him up and kneading at it at the same time; when Qrow broke away to kiss his neck, he fumbled out a halting, “I'm James, by the way.”

“Mm-hmm.” Qrow licked a stripe up his neck and mouthed at his ear. “Thanks for telling me.” He leaned back and reached for James' buttons, and something in James reminded him that he really ought to get some full disclosure out of the way before they went any further. He caught Qrow's hands in his own, Qrow unwinding his legs and dropping to the ground as he let go of his ass.

“Wait-” he said. “You should know- before we go any farther-” He tugged off his glove, holding up his cybernetic hand. “The right side of my body is cybernetic,” he said. “Including my- my dick. If you're not interested-”

“Holy shit that's hot,” was all Qrow managed before dragging James back down into another kiss. It said all it needed to- James picked him back up and carried him over to the bed, dropping him onto it and then stepping back so he could undo his shirt. Qrow propped himself up on his elbows to watch, eyes raking over James' body as it was revealed. “So hot,” he breathed.

James set his shirt aside- got a scoffing comment about being a goody-goody- and joined Qrow on the bed, pulling him into another kiss while Qrow reached for the catches on his pants.

That this was a bad idea had been driven from his mind: the part of his brain that thought Qrow's hair was fluffy and his lips were very kissable was in control now, and it was noting that yes, his lips _were_ very kissable but his hair wasn't quite as fluffy as anticipated, probably due to the product in it.

o/o

James woke to an empty bed, which wasn't surprising, but it was still warm beside him, and there was a note on the bedside table. He rolled into the warm spot and reached for the note, snuggling sleepily into his blankets while he read it.

 _Dear Tin Man_ (it read)

_Thanks for last night- really phenomenal. I'm gonna be walking funny for days which, you know, means having to shirk more of my duties so nobody asks uncomfortable questions. Thanks for that._

_I'd love to have another go if you would. I can come back tonight- if you want me to, just leave your window open. I can take it from there. If not, close it, and I'll get the message and leave you alone. Either way, I hope you had as much fun as I did. Like holy shit that was fun. Definitely worth a repeat performance, you know?_

_Anyway, I gotta take off before I get into trouble. See you tonight, Tin Man (or not- up to you)_

_Qrow_

There was a crude drawing at the bottom of the note, a pair of hastily drawn men- _in tender embrace_. James' ears burned, but he folded the letter and tucked it away in his toolbox, where no one else would find it. He hadn't decided yet, but he had the feeling that tonight he would be leaving his window open again.

o/o

“I need to pretend to be your manservant,” Qrow said.

In his bed, Tai lay still for a long time, hoping that maybe if Qrow didn't think he was awake he would go away.

It was a foolish hope- Qrow just pulled his blankets aside and crawled into bed beside him, reaching over and poking him, clearly intent on doing this as long as it took for Tai to wake up and pay attention to him. Tai sighed, and opened his eyes.

“Qrow.” Tai considered all of his possible responses, and then, “Wait, you need to do what?”

“I need to pretend to be your manservant,” he said. “I want to go to the fair with you today but I don't want to have to put in an appearance as the prince.”

“That's a stupid idea,” Tai said. “No one who spent more than thirty seconds with you would mistake you for a servant. Why not just go as a crow?”

“Because I need opposable thumbs. Come on, Tai. I can do it. I'm a good actor. And if anyone asks we'll just say it was another of my pranks.”

“Is there any point in my asking why?”

“I wanna make out with James Ironwood behind the concessions.”

“I regret asking.” Tai sighed and rubbed irritably at his eyes. “Why not go as a guest? No one knows what you look like anyway.”

“He thinks I'm a servant.”

“I really need to stop asking questions. Fine! If anyone asks you're my man. Honestly, this guy better be worth it. Which one is he?”

“Tall, sapphire eyes, cheeks you could cut diamonds with.”

“Oh.” Tai tilted his head slightly in concession. “Yeah, he's pretty cute. I still think this is stupid but, I mean, whatever.” He sighed and closed his eyes, drifting back off for a few moments.

He heard rustling beside him, the bed dipping as Qrow got out of it. The window opened, and then he heard Qrow climb over the ledge and then the beating of wings as he flew away. Tai pulled his blankets back up over his head with a groan. He hadn't asked for this when he'd befriended the royal children.


	2. In Which Glynda Begins to Regret Her Life Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day two of the festivities. Qrow and James actually have a conversation, and there's a mini tournament to show off the noble hunters' abilities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I may have ended up coming up with a more complicated plot for this than the original one whoops. I'm going to start laying the groundwork for it in the next chapter. It's gonna be exciting.

o/o

Qrow trailed behind Tai for the better part of the morning, occasionally trying his hand at manservant things but mostly whining if Tai actually asked him to do something to maintain the charade. By time time they went to get lunch, Tai was ready to tell Qrow to get lost, that there was no way a tree with cheekbones could possibly be worth this much trouble. Besides, he didn’t believe for a moment that anyone was actually _fooled_ by Qrow’s performance, making it moot anyway.

Also, they hadn’t even seen Ironwood yet, for all that Qrow was clearly looking for him.

He finally spotted him halfway through fetching Tai’s lunch; he hurried the food back to Tai and then took off after Ironwood without explanation, leaving Tai holding his bowl and staring after him, dumbfounded.

“Your man seems very excitable,” said a voice behind him. Tai turned around to find Summer there, eyes twinkling with amusement. His neck burned, and he nodded.

“I told him he could have the rest of the afternoon off to enjoy the festivities,” he said. “I guess he was pleased.”

“Is that so.” Summer looked like she didn’t believe his excuse for a moment, which was hardly surprising. Just because Qrow had managed to keep his likeness hidden, didn’t mean his identity wasn’t obvious. One only had to listen to the flippant way he spoke to realize there was no way he’d been brought up in the service.

“Completely,” Tai said. Not that that meant he was going to blow his cover- Qrow didn’t want people to know who he was, Tai wasn’t going to be the one to spill the beans. Instead he offered Summer his free arm. “Would you care to join me for lunch?” he asked. “My man has run off, but I’ll be happy to fetch you something myself.”

“I think that sounds lovely,” Summer said, taking his arm. “You can tell me why the prince is masquerading as a manservant at a fair where most of the nobles don’t even bring their manservant in the first place.”

Tai just laughed. She was shrewd, this one. He’d have to keep a closer eye on her.

o/o

James was making his way to the games booths when Qrow caught up to him. He stopped in his tracks at Qrow’s call, pinching his eyes shut and taking a deep breath. What was _he_ doing here? Working? Or, shirking his work, more like. Now that he thought about it, James thought he might have seen the man around, trailing behind Xiao Long at some point. His manservant? Not many of the nobles brought their manservant along to the fair. He made a mental note to speak with Xiao Long later, to satisfy his curiosity, and turned to meet Qrow as the man reached him.

“Qrow,” he said.

“Hi, Jimmy,” Qrow said, slightly breathless. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“James,” he said, automatically. He didn’t like being called Jimmy- he hadn’t since he was a boy. “I was actually going to say the same to you.”

“I snuck away,” Qrow said, folding his hands behind his head and following when James carried on walking. “I wanted to see you again. I know my note said tonight but that’s too long. I couldn’t stop thinking about touching you. So when I saw you…” He shrugged. “Want to make out behind the concession stands?”

James stopped again, turning his gaze skyward. It was preferable to looking at Qrow, who was looking up at him hopefully, because that was a hard face to say no to, not when James’ mind was reminding him of all the lovely sounds Qrow had made under him last night, and of the bruises that blossomed on the flesh side of his chest, and pointed out that he’d been able to see multiple hickeys under Qrow’s collar, and a thousand other points that made it very hard to refuse Qrow’s offer. But he was busy, and it would do him no good to get distracted by putting fresh marks in among the old ones.

Five minutes later, Qrow had dragged James behind the concession stands and was fumbling with the buttons of his greatcoat. He was having trouble with them; he whined about how many there were before James pushed his hands away, worried that he would be impatient enough to pull the buttons off in his haste, and that wouldn’t do at all- it could be repaired, but in the meantime he’d have to go around in just his ribbed undershirt, and he didn’t like that idea.

Once the buttons were undone Qrow reached up and shoved the coat off of his shoulders- there would be grass stains on the white material, he just knew it- and pulled his undershirt untucked so he could get his hands up under it, running across James’ skin.

“Been thinking about this all day,” Qrow said. “Would have liked to have stayed this morning- could have had some good morning after sex if I had.” He pulled James wrist up and mouthed at it. “But I had to go.”

James would have responded, but he was a little busy, attention torn between sucking new marks into Qrow’s neck and undoing Qrow’s pants so he could slip his hand down into them.

“I can guess I’d have found your window open tonight, then,” Qrow went on. James hummed an affirmative, and Qrow grinned. “Good- g- _goo_ fUCK!”

“Shhh,” James murmured against his jaw. “Keep it down.”

Qrow just swore at him, biting down on a shout when James repeated his motion. “Bastard.”

“I can stop.”

“If you do I will shoot you.”

James just laughed, and pulled Qrow into a kiss. “All right.”

o/o

Glynda found she rather liked the fair. She'd always liked fairs- when she was training to be a huntress, there had been a fair every year, when the schools held their tournaments for the students to compete against one another. This fair was different, but it was still entertaining, and she fell in with a group including Arc and Lavender, who were all very interested in hearing about her adventures as a huntress.

Glynda liked Lavender. She had a very minor title, overall, and was not a good prospect for many of the nobles- she wouldn't give a strong foothold in Vale, and her family had little political pull to make up for it- but she was shrewd, and seemed to know things that the others didn't. She seemed, to Glynda, like a good match- a good ally to help her navigate this world she'd found herself in. She was also very pretty, and when they separated from the group to visit the concession stands alone, she made her interest apparent.

“Would you like to know a secret?” she asked, and when Glynda nodded, “Even though the purpose of these events is to create alliances between Atlas and Vale, the more minor nobles with nothing to offer aren't expected to make good matches with Atlas. We're sent along by Vale to pad the numbers, and we often tend to leave with no attachments, or with attachments to other nobles from Vale- anything that will strengthen our position in Vale. Do you understand what I'm saying?”

She gave Glynda a look. Glynda countered it with one of her own, and, “Yes,” she said. “You're saying you have twice as many prospects as the nobles from major families, because _any_ match will be a good one.”

The answer seemed to please Lavender, and she broke off to get them both both cotton candy. It was hard to maintain her dignity while eating cotton candy, but Glynda was good at dignity: she'd learned to fight monsters in heels, her hair was never out of place, and the artful shape of her habitual cape made it harder to see when it had been ripped. Dignity, for Glynda, was an art form, one just as important her as being a huntress.

“You're not comfortable with all of this, are you?” Lavender asked.

Glynda sucked some spun sugar off the tip of her thumb, and gave off the air of shrugging without, in fact, shrugging. “Cotton candy wreaks merry hell on one's dignity,” she said, neatly dodging the question.

“I meant the arrangements,” Lavender said. “You're not comfortable with political marriages.”

“Not really. I mean.” Glynda hesitated. “This world you all come from- where you grow up knowing that when you get married, it'll be someone who can benefit your title, and benefit from it as well... it's so different than the one I came from. I grew up in a world where people married because they loved each other, and because they had enough devotion to spend their life together. How can I just throw that away just because I've got a title now?”

Lavender gave her a sympathetic look. “I guess it must seem strange to you- that we're all so casual about the benefits we offer. We've all got lists of which prospects would be best for us, and all of us are trying to make it to the top of each other's lists- and this is ordinary for us, because it's what we know. Love isn't a concern, and not nearly as much as friendship, understanding, and knowing that we can work together.”

Glynda nodded. “It's just not something that sits well with me. It doesn't feel like _marriage_.”

“Don't think of it as a marriage, then,” Lavender suggested. “Think of it as a partnership. That's what it is, really. And there are benefits. After all, maybe among the masses marriage for love is possible, but among the nobility, there's not a stigma about taking lovers from outside of our marriage. You can have as many or as few as you like- and no one will mind. And if you chose them for love, where would be the harm?”

Ozpin had already told her as much when he was preparing her for the festival, so Glynda just murmured her agreement and let it go. Her interest in Lavender had waned somewhat: she couldn't help thinking in another life the two might have been compatible, but in this world, where Lavender spoke of partnership and outside love, Glynda wondered if she could really spend her life with someone so detached.

“Perhaps you should try among the other titled huntresses,” Lavender suggested, after a moment of steadily chilling silence. “Others who were brought up in the same world you were.”

There was no objection in her tone, nothing to suggest that she harbored any hard feelings for the rejection. Glynda searched her face for both, but she seemed perfectly at ease, so, “Thank you for the advice,” Glynda said. “I'll keep it in mind.”

Were there any other titled huntresses among the potentials? Just one, as it happened, a young woman named Summer Rose. Glynda remembered reading about her- remembered being intrigued by her history. She'd intended already to make an acquaintance with the woman, and it seemed now that she really ought to.

She took her leave of Lavender, and made her way through the fair grounds to the exhibition ring. There were several huntsmen and huntresses among the nobles gathered, some by trade and others merely by training, and so a small tournament, just for fun, had been arranged to close out the evening. Glynda was entered, of course. She was the talk of Vale right now after her exploits with the dragon, and she knew there was no way she would be allowed to get out of signing up.

“Ah well,” she said to the empty air. “At least this is something I can understand.”

o/o

When James had finished ravishing Qrow, he was both surprised and unsurprised when the man trailed after him, walking with him through the grounds. James was beginning to suspect that Qrow wasn't a mere servant as he'd originally suspected- he was too at ease, and terrible at avoiding notice. If he _was_ a regular servant, he was bad at it.

“You got me,” Qrow said, when James brought this up. He raised his hands and folded them behind his head, turning his eyes just enough to give James a cocky look. “I'm a huntsman, actually. Got called back into the city about a year ago for family reasons, and had to make some changes to my lifestyle.”

That explained a great deal- James could see it in the way he moved, it was there for anyone who knew what to look for. Qrow nodded, and went on.

“You're a huntsman too, right? Not just trained, either- I know a lot of Atlas nobles get their education from the academy and then go on to do other things, but I don't think you're one of them. No...” There was a shrewd glint in his eye. “No, in-name-only huntsmen don't lose half their body. Grimm, right?”

James stared, stunned, and then nodded slowly. “Nevermore took my arm,” he said. “Beowulf took off my back. Ursa crushed my ribs. The foot was frostbite, actually, but the rest of the leg was another Ursa.” Qrow stared; he shrugged. “I don't have a lot of aura,” he said. “I fight anyway.”

It was easy to talk to Qrow, he found, now that he knew Qrow was a fellow huntsman. They made their way across the grounds to the tournament stage for the exhibition, swapping stories about their time in the field, until they reached the sign in booth. James was entered in the exhibition; while he signed in, Qrow stood to the side, hunched over and waiting. James joined him once he'd been given his entry card, and was surprised when Qrow pulled him down into a kiss.

“For luck,” Qrow said. “I'll be watching your match- try not to lose any more body parts.” Then he ducked around a corner and was gone.

James stared after him, a little stunned, lips tingling with surprise from the kiss. That, he didn't understand. He'd spent most of the night before making love to Qrow, had fooled around with him behind the concession stand earlier. So why was it that a simple kiss had left him so stunned?

He smiled all the same, though, and was humming while he made his way to the entrants' waiting room.

o/o

Tai was in the bathroom washing his hands when a crow appeared on the windowsill, cawing a query at him. Tai checked the gaps under the stalls and flashed the bird a thumbs up when he was sure there was no one in them, and took a step back as the crow leaped from the window and landed as Qrow.

“So how did it go with Ironwood?” he asked, turning back to the sink. “Did you get any canoodling done?”

“Plenty,” Qrow said, grinning with satisfaction. “That man is very talented with his tongue, you know.”

“I don't _want_ to know,” Tai said. “Unless I make a match with him, I guess,” he added. “Then it might be nice to know that.”

“Oh no you don't,” Qrow said. He furrowed his brow sternly, jabbed his finger in Tai's direction. “This one is mine.”

“What?” Tai looked stunned. “I thought you weren't interested in a match.”

“I wasn't,” Qrow said. “But I'll have to make one sooner or later, and I like this one- I can think of worse matches than a handsome, funny, big-hearted huntsman who's as talented with his tongue as this one.”

“Going to tell him who you are, then?” Tai asked.

Qrow shook his head. “No... I want to get to know him a bit better first, make sure this is the right move. If I tell him who I am he'll start maneuvering.” He pursed his lips thoughtfully. “But I don't want anyone else moving in on me or distracting him, so put the word around- the prince has his eye on this one and going after him right now will be taken as an insult, and not a light one, either. Can you do that for me, Tai?”

Tai sighed, but nodded. “Okay,” he said. “I'll make sure it gets out. But he's going to notice that the other prospectives aren't paying attention to him. He's got a good title- he might not be a major noble, but the Ironwood family has more going for it than the name. He's going to know something is up.”

“Don't worry about that, Tai. I intend to keep him too busy to realize no one else is paying attention to him. By the way, I've told him I was a huntsman and I got called back to the city last year for family business.”

“You sly bastard,” Tai said. “You haven't lied to him at all, have you?”

“Not once,” Qrow said proudly. “He's the one who assumed I was a servant, I just made sure to word things in such a way that wouldn't disillusion him of that.”

“Sly bastard,” Tai said again. “Are you going to come watch the tournament?” he added. “I'm competing.”

“I'll be there,” Qrow said. “Really close to the action, too.”

Tai rolled his eyes. “You're going to get in trouble one of these days,” he said. “Oh, why am I bothering, it's not like you ever listen. Just be careful,” he added. “Try not to get hit by a stray shot. Honestly.”

“I'm always careful.” Qrow pushed the window back open, “See you later, buddy,” and then transformed. Tai watched him fly away, shaking his head at his friend.

o/o

There were eight hunters competing in the tournament, so the first round was a battle royale, with all eight of them fighting at once. The last four standing would move on to the next round, and the winners of those two matches to the finals. James stood near the door of the waiting room, drinking from a bottle of water while he watched the others (who were, in turn, also watching each other- they were all trained hunters, after all). His nerves were getting to him- not bad, but he was always on edge before a performance. He tossed his empty water bottle into the garbage can and stepped outside for some air.

Xiao Long was leaned against the outer wall, talking to one of the ever-present black birds that lived on the estate. When he spotted James, he snapped his mouth shut, and turned to give the man a polite greeting. The crow, for his part, hop-winged the short distance over to James, where he began puffing his feathers and preening. Xiao Long snorted.

“He wants you to pet him,” he said.

“Is he yours, then?” James asked, leaning down and coaxing the crow up onto his hand. The crow stepped into his palm willingly, and made pleased humming noises when James stood and began stroking his silky-soft feathers.

Xiao Long just rolled his eyes. “Hardly,” he said. “He's just a friend- I grew up around this estate,” he added. “I've just gotten to know the birds, that's all.”

That much was in his file- though his family had an estate of their own, Xiao Long had been a companion of the royal children, and so had spent more of his life with the royal family. If James recalled correctly, he had been living on the estate full time ever since his now-broken engagement to the princess.

“I've never seen so many crows in one place,” James said, wincing when the crow, apparently not happy that he'd stopped petting him, had nipped at his finger with its beak. “The royals certainly seem very fond of them.”

“Crows have always been a symbol of the Branwen family,” Xiao Long said. “There's a legend about King Branwen I saving the Crow King from danger, and in exchange the Crow King put Branwen on the throne of Vale and gave him his daughter in marriage, but that's just a fairy tale. I mean... how does a man marry a crow?”

This got a caw of objection from the bird in James' hand; he beat his wings irritably in Xiao Long's direction, but Xiao Long just stuck his tongue out at him.

“It's a nice story, at least,” James said, and, “Do you know why the prince never appears at any royal functions?”

Xiao Long just shrugged. “He does,” he said. “Just nobody ever notices him.”

“Nobody's that good at escaping notice,” James protested.

“You'd be surprised.” In James' hand, the bird cawed irritably and flew over to Xiao Long, landing on his shoulder and pecking at his ear. Xiao Long scowled and shooed him away. “You aren't missing anything,” he said. “He's an asshole anyway.”

“Your man said the same thing.” At Xiao Long's perplexed look, James cursed himself inwardly. He couldn't believe how easily the words had slipped out- but Xiao Long didn't seem fazed.

“Oh right, he said he was sniffing around you,” he said. “If he makes a nuisance of himself, feel free to send him away. I've no issue with his pursuit so long as you're both willing, though.”

“I don't mind,” James reassured him. “I like him.”

“Wait till you've known him a bit longer. Would you stop that?” This last directed at the crow, who was back to pecking Xiao Long's ear and cawing raucously. “Go away- nobody asked you.”

James suppressed an amused smile, and looked up when the all-call for the competitors came over the speaker. “We're being summoned,” he said. He turned and went back inside, Xiao Long close behind. As he went inside, the crow flew over to perch on his shoulder, talons digging down to the metal under his clothes. The crow preened a little, then nipped gently- almost affectionately- at James' ear. James managed a smile at this, pleased that he'd made friends with the bird.

o/o

At the beginning of the Royale, the eight contestants were placed at the eight corners of the octagonal exhibition ring. The crow was still perched on James' shoulder- he'd tried several times to shoo it away, only to have it return almost immediately. He only hoped that it would get the point when the blows started flying. In the meantime, he reached into his coat and closed his hand reassuringly around the hilt of his pistol. He knew that it was in perfect working condition, had taken it apart and cleaned every part of it the night before in preparation. He didn't take it out, though. His weapon wasn't common knowledge, and he preferred to leave his opponents guessing, rather than give them a chance to form strategies.

The crow took off at the starting gun, cawing irritably and winging over to sit on the seat that would have been occupied by the prince. James only registered this dimly, because he had to focus his main attention on the fight. He chose for the moment to ignore Glynda: he would no doubt have to deal with her later, but her doubted he could take her own with the distraction of other fighters.

This was the sort of thing he lived for, though, the fight: he shut down the parts of his brain that had nothing to do with the match, relegating those things to background noise, a staticy buzz that drowned out the sound of the crowd, the sound of everything but the fight. The cybernetic wires in his brain, the ones that made it possible for him to control his enhancements, also made it possible for him to categorize and analyze his thoughts in the space of a moment.

Xiao Long was coming at him, fists at the ready: his brain threw facts at him, a thousand at once. Xiao Long fought with fists, Xiao Long's semblance gave him enhanced strength, Xiao Long was leading with his left side, Xiao Long was pushing his weight down as he ran, intent on taking out James' legs and using his own weight to bring him down. James slid his left leg back and caught Xiao Long's fist in his right: his left came up to catch the other blow almost as quickly. More signals: the sting from Xiao Long's blow to his flesh hand, the amount of pressure he was putting on the man's fist with his right. He set that on a priority lest he put too much. This was an exhibition, a game, it wouldn't do to put more pressure than the other could handle and do real damage.

Instead he braced all of his weight on his right leg- more signals: Xiao Long was trying to pull his hand free, looked startled, surprised, frustrated frantic _furious_ when he realized he couldn't, Xiao Long was shifting his weight to try flipping James again- James brought his left leg around and knocked Xiao Long's out from under him, shifted his grip so that he could send him flying back, landing on another combatant with a shout from both of them. But already he was being sent more signals from his more vulnerable left side: another combatant approaching him, swinging a mace. His pistol was in his hand in a moment, flipped around to use it as a melee weapon-

The fight was over far sooner for the audience than it was for the combatants. James shuddered as he came back to what he thought of as 'real' time, letting his cybernetics fade back into the background while he focused on more than just his immediate need. Along with himself, the other three standing competitors were Glynda- no surprise there- and another pair he only knew in passing, a short, round young man with a bushy mustache and a rail-thin man even taller than James. The other four competitors were limping off of the stage; James registered dimly that Xiao Long shot the crow on the prince's seat a glare before heading toward the exist. The crow launched from the chair and flew after him, attempting to land on his shoulder only to be shooed away with another glare.

James paid little attention to that. The four remaining competitors were being paired up for the next round, and he wanted to see who he would be fighting. He hoped it wasn't Glynda. He was hoping to face her in the finals, to give the audience a great show.

He let out a long breath when the matches were decided- he would be facing Oobleck, the tall man with the extending torch-club.

Well, that looked like fun.

o/o

“What are you in a snit about?” Qrow demanded, transforming as soon as he and Tai were well away from the ring. He fell into step beside his friend, who was fuming.

“Why didn't you tell me?” Tai said.

“Tell you _what_?”

“That Ironwood is a goddamned _cyborg_ , you bastard!”

“Should I have?”

“It would have been nice to know before I tried to fight him! He damn near broke my hand when I punched him!”

“Didn't, though.” Qrow shrugged. “He wears that glove, keeps his body covered,” he said. “Seemed like the kind of thing he wanted to keep quiet.”

“I was going to find out in the fight anyway,” Tai pointed out, still fuming. He stopped, turned to glare at his friend. “Why not just tell me?”

Qrow just shrugged again, and Tai glowered at him for a long moment before suddenly realizing. His shoulders sagged.

“You- you're serious,” he said, and at Qrow's baffled look, “About Ironwood. You're serious about Ironwood. You're not just messing around or entertaining yourself. You're really serious.”

“I told you,” Qrow said, his own shoulders dropping. “You're the one that didn't believe me.”

Tai tilted his head. “Qrow, are you- falling for him?”

“Maybe.” Qrow half turned away. “I really like him, okay? I only fucked him because he was hot and I was horny but then I read his file and talked to him and- you know,” he finished lamely. “I want to get to know him more. I want him to get to know me- _me_ , not the prince he has to get to know for political maneuvering. Are you still mad?”

Tai sighed. “No. I mean... I still wish you'd told me but... I guess it doesn't matter. If I can ever get a rematch with him, I'll be better prepared. And it was a good fight.” It was his turn to shrug. “Is that why you kept pecking me before? Because I was telling him you were a nuisance?”

“Yes.” Qrow positively pouted. “What'd you want to go and say a thing like that for?”

Tai smiled. “I wanted to make sure he was interested in _you_ before I started telling people you wanted them to back off. It's no good if he wants you to go away.”

“Oh.”

“And hey!” Tai punched his arm lightly- or lightly for him, anyway. Qrow wobbled from the force. “He does like you! He said so!”

“Yeah!” Qrow grinned. He hadn't thought of that. “He did!”

They fell silent, then, making their way into the arena and into the spectator stands. James was just starting his fight with Oobleck, and Qrow pursed his lips and let out a shrill whistle of encouragement. Though James gave no indication of hearing him, instead focusing on his fight, Qrow was certain he saw James' lips twitch up into a smile all the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHY DID I DECIDE TO WRITE A FIGHT SCENE
> 
> WHY DID I DECIDE TO WRITE MULTIPLE FIGHT SCENES


	3. In Which James Begins to Regret His Life Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An intermission for canoodling, and then the long awaited Glynda v James match.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter was the last one I worked on before I came up with my plot, so this is the one that starts introducing all the major plot elements.

o/o

James won his match with Oobleck, though it was a near miss, with Oobleck moving almost as fast as James' cybernetics could process, making it difficult for him to get a clear hit on the other man. In the end, though, he just took hit after hit, absorbing blows that were meaningless to his cybernetic half and that would leave his living half heavily bruised later, until he could get Oobleck to come close enough for him to hit, using the force of Oobleck's own momentum to send him flying from the ring.

He leaned on his knees, breathing heavily, while an attendant hurried over to make sure Oobleck was okay and the announcer declared James the winner. Then he was ushered out of the ring so that the next match could take place.

He was unsurprised to find Xiao Long in the waiting room, Qrow standing slightly behind him. His eyes watered slightly- it was hard to look at Qrow, something he chalked up to his cybernetics bombarding him with signals about how much he was aching. He blinked, and shook his head, and when he opened his eyes again Qrow was in sharp focus, eyebrows raised a little in surprise.

“That was a pretty good fight,” Xiao Long said, holding out his hand. “I'm hoping you'll grace me with a rematch sometime.”

“I could see my way to that,” James agreed, shaking his hand in turn. “I don't meet many bare-handed fighters. I'd be interested in seeing what you could do.”

“Well, maybe you will,” he said. “And next time you won't be able to surprise me with your metal arm.”

There was a lull, and James locked eyes with Qrow over Xiao Long's shoulder. Qrow winked, and in front of him, Xiao Long furrowed his brow in confusion. He turned around to look at Qrow, whose face had already swapped back to being innocent, and then turned back around, frowning.

“Well,” he said. “I can see when I'm not wanted. I'll leave you two to your canoodling.”

He waved grumpily and turned to go, leaving James and Qrow in the waiting room. Qrow folded his arms and studied James for a long, silent moment.

“You're gonna be a mess of bruises after that last match,” Qrow said. “I wouldn't be surprised to find a few dents, too.”

“I'll heal,” James reassured him. He stepped into Qrow's personal space, leering down at him. He wasn't sure what it was about Qrow that made him want him so constantly, but he still had some adrenaline from the fight and he wanted a quick, rough fumble, and he suspected Qrow would be amenable. Qrow just smirked up at him in response, and for his troubles James caught the back of his neck and dragged him up into a kiss.

“Not here,” Qrow said, when James pulled away to suck on the pulse point below his jaw. “Anyone could walk in. Unless you're into that?” Qrow murmured. “Want to have someone walk in on you while you've got my cock in your hand? Or maybe while I'm on my knees, getting acquainted with your iron wood all over again?”

The thought made James growl softly, but Qrow was right, this wasn't the place for it. Instead he picked Qrow up and carried him through to the door at the back of the room, the one that led to the bathroom, and locked the door behind him before turning and slamming Qrow into it. Qrow just groaned and let his head fall back to thud against the wall while James got to work on ravishing him.

“By the Maidens,” Qrow said hoarsely. “I should catch you on a battle high more often.”

o/o

Glynda's match with Port was over embarrassingly quick. Strong though he was, the little man was no match for Glynda's power. He was sent flying from the ring with a shout and landed in a heap, raising a hand with a thumbs up after a few tense seconds to show he was okay, before flopping back onto the ground.

Glynda let out a long, slow breath. She'd been a bit overzealous, perhaps- the crowd wanted an impressive battle that would entertain them, and instead got a knock out after barely a minute.

 _You've been in the field too long_ , she told herself. _You used to understand exhibition fights_.

Well, maybe the match against Ironwood later would be better. She would make sure to give the crowd a good show, assuming Ironwood didn't force her hand. She doubted he would. She'd seen his match with Oobleck, and earlier in the Royale. He'd looked damned impressive, an air of flippancy to his stance while he'd sent Taiyang flying, a degree of showboating while he'd taken Oobleck's blows and waited for an opening.

No, there was no reason to worry about him. He knew how to make a match look good.

An intermission had been declared, an hour for the two finalists to rest and recover before the final round. Glynda stepped off of the stage and made her way out of the stadium, back into the fairgrounds, intent on taking a walk to clear her head. She didn't react when she realized there was a figure walking along with her, instead turning her head just enough to raise an eyebrow at the woman beside her.

“Yes?” she asked. The woman said nothing for a long time.

“That was an impressive match,” she said, after a long time. Glynda inclined her head graciously, trying not to let it show how unnerved she was by the woman's presence. “You're fighting Ironwood next, right?”

“Yes.”

The woman hummed softly, and, “May I ask you a favor?”

“It depends on what it is.”

“Could you maim him a bit?”

Glynda stopped walking, and stared at the woman, who turned around to stare back, face blank. “I'm sorry, but _what_?”

“Maim him a bit,” the woman repeated. “Take off his metal arm, or something. Nothing permanent- just a bit of light maiming.”

“...no.” Glynda turned and began walking in the opposite direction. She sensed rather than saw the woman following her, but when she turned back around, she was gone, and Glynda was alone but for the ever-present black birds of the Branwen family.

o/o

James sat back against the bathroom door, Qrow sat between his legs and leaning back against him. They were both breathing heavily, and a damp sheen of sweat had sprung up on the back of James' neck. He leaned forward and buried his face in Qrow's hair, wrapping his arms around Qrow's middle and smiling.

“Are you always like that after a fight?” Qrow asked. James just hummed vaguely, so Qrow snorted. “Well, either way I enjoyed it. Though I'm not enjoying sitting on the bathroom floor like this.” He poked James' hand. “Come on, get up. Gotta get you cleaned up and rested for your match with Glynda so you can come ravish me again when you beat her.”

This got him a laugh, James chuckling into the back of his neck. Qrow felt the laugh all around him and grinned, then unfolded himself from James with a bit of reluctance and stood. “Come on, Jimmy, up you get.”

He got James to his feet, and the two of them got cleaned up before reemerging from the bathroom. “You've got about an hour before the match,” Qrow said. “Wanna get something to eat?”

James was starving after his fights, so he agreed, and wasn't a bit surprised when Qrow slipped a hand into his own. It slowed his thoughts down somewhat: he and Qrow had just meant to be fooling around, but less than twenty-four hours after they'd met, they were walking hand in hand to get food. And he _liked_ it. Qrow's hand was warm in his, and James was registering every time their shoulders brushed against one another. And Qrow laughed easily, freely, made it clear he was enjoying James' company- and James already knew he enjoyed Qrow's as well.

He wondered, idly, if Qrow would be willing to return to Atlas with him at the end of the gathering. It would be a much easier life than being a servant, and he suspected one he'd be much better at. He reminded himself that this was just a fling, though, and cast the thought aside. True, it wasn't unusual for a noble to bring their lover to live on their estate with them- both of his parents had had a few over the years- but to ask Qrow to uproot himself, to move to an entirely new kingdom, after less than a day was too high an ask.

He was just being a besotted young fool, he told himself. The idea of having Qrow come back to Atlas with him still appealed to him, though, and he set it neatly aside in his mind to consider later- perhaps if they were still at it come the end of the gathering.

o/o

Tai had wandered off onto the grounds, and as he was making his way through the booths became aware of a presence at his side. He looked down and beamed despite his mood to find Summer walking along with him, hands clasped casually behind her back and a knowing smile on her face. He murmured a warm greeting, and she turned her dazzling smile back up at him.

“It's a shame you didn't make it out of the Royale,” she said. “I was hoping to watch you in the one-on-ones.”

“Ah well,” he said, shrugging. “I made some miscalculations and paid for them. But there will be other tournaments-” A blush colored the back of his neck, but he pressed on anyway. “-and maybe at the next one, you'll come cheer me on? That is, if you don't decide to compete as well,” he added, remembering that she was just as much hunter as he was. “Speaking of, why didn't you compete today?”

She shrugged. “I was on a mission just before I came to the gathering,” she said. “I wanted to take a break from fighting.”

“That makes sense.” He turned his gaze skyward for a moment, and, “May I ask you something?”

“You may ask.”

“How did you know about Qrow being the prince?”

This got him a soft peal of laughter, and Summer's eyes twinkled merrily up at him. “You don't remember me, do you? I suppose it makes sense, I was several years below you and we rarely crossed paths. But I'd like to think I at least made an impression when we did.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was at the Academy with you and Qrow, and the princess as well. As I said, I was a few years below you, but I was there.”

Tai pursed his lips. “But,” he said, “Qrow and Raven's identities weren't common knowledge at the Academy. So how did you know who they were from there?”

Her eyes danced mischievously. “It wasn't hard to figure out,” she said. “Only members of the royal family are trained as scythe users. Does he really think using it as a broadsword is fooling anyone?”

“It seems to,” Tai said, a little disgruntled. “Perhaps you're just more shrewd than anyone else, and not giving yourself credit.”

“Hmm, perhaps.” She shrugged. “The fact that I couldn't always look directly at him also was a bit of a giveaway,” she added.

“Most people don't notice that,” Tai said, startled. “How did you?”

“It's not hard, if you know what to look for. Are the legends about the family true, then? The magic of the Crow Queen flows in their veins?”

There was no getting around it, Tai decided. He nodded. “Yes. Well, some of them. It depends on which version of the story you listen to. It has been a bit embellished over the years- most historians now agree that the ogre was probably just an ordinary man, who got turned into a monster in later tellings of the story to make him a more interesting enemy.”

“Or maybe there's more than one way to be an ogre,” Summer countered. “Some monsters are very human-shaped.”

“True,” he agreed. He'd met some himself, when he was on missions. “But that's not talk for a pleasant evening. Would you like to watch Ironwood and Goodwitch's fight with me?”

“I think that sounds agreeable.” She took the arm he offered her, and the pair began making their slow way back to the stadium.

o/o

James and Qrow parted at the entry to the stadium, Qrow making his way up into the stands while James headed to the waiting room to psych himself up for the match. This time he wasn't surprised when Qrow pulled him down into another kiss for luck before heading up into the stands with a wave.

In the waiting room, he found Glynda already there, sat in one of the chairs and reading on her scroll. She seemed quite calm, though as usual she gave off the air being a tightly coiled spring. He took a seat near her.

“I'm looking forward to our match,” he said. “Though I hope it isn't over as quickly as your fight with Port.”

This got him a small smile. “I haven't done an exhibition in years,” she said. “I forgot that the goal of a staged match is to look good, and not to be over quickly.”

“The difference between being a hunter and being a performer,” James agreed. “When I'm in the field, I don't want to draw the battle out so it looks good, I want to get rid of the thing trying to kill me as quickly as possible.”

“Have you spent much time in the field?”

“Enough. I haven't been back out in a while, though. My responsibilities are dragging me home more and more- Mother wants me to get more experience with my duties to our title, and that limits how much time I can devote to missions.” He managed a sheepish smile. “If I'm honest, I think she's only keeping me home so she doesn't have to worry about me.”

“Ah, a mama's boy,” she teased, grinning at the flush that spread up his neck to his ears. “She's right to worry, it's a dangerous job. Are you the only child?”

He nodded, willing his blush away. “I don't mind,” he admitted. “Mother is easy to indulge- and she always gets her way anyway. I think you'd like her, if you ever met her. Either that, or you'd both go to war. I wonder...”

He trailed off, because there was a call for them over the speakers. They locked eyes. “Time to go,” she said, and, “Let's try to make it a good show.”

“Agreed.”

o/o

Qrow found Tai in the stands with Summer, and took a seat on his opposite side, leaning around to give her a smile of greeting. “Hi, Summer,” he said, getting a cheery smile.

“Hello, Qrow,” she said. Her eyes flickered to Tai. “At least _you_ remember me.”

“You're kind of hard to forget.” His own eyes shifted to Tai as well; Tai had stiffened slightly. “Well, for me, anyway.”

“Your friend doesn't seem to agree,” she replied, laughing a little at Tai's expense when he hung his head in shame.

“Disgraceful,” Qrow said, clucking his tongue. “Why don't you come over here by me instead, he doesn't deserve your company.”

“No thank you,” she said. “I'd like a seatmate who will pay attention to me, and I know that you won't as soon as the lovely Ironwood has entered the ring.”

“She's agreed to help me put the word around that he's off-limits,” Tai said, when Qrow shot him a look. “She understands your reasoning much better than I do.”

“I've only been titled a month,” Summer said, nodding. “And already the mount of posturing that comes alongside is exhausting. I don't wonder that it would be even moreso for a prince.”

Qrow agreed, and then his words faltered as the two combatants entered the ring, and James caught his eye for the barest moment. Tai poked him irritably, shaking him out of it.

“Stop that,” he said. “You know you can't aim it properly.”

“Henh? Oh, right.” Qrow hadn't even realized he was doing it, honestly- he'd just wanted to make sure James knew he was in the crowd. But people were already glancing his way, baffled as they looked for whatever they thought had drawn their gaze. He pulled back, sinking into the background until people returned their attention to the ring, confused but already mentally writing the event off in their minds.

“How do you do that?” Summer asked, leaning around Tai to talk to him. Tai was looking out over the ring; he'd learned long ago that he couldn't look at Qrow when he was unfocusing, and wasn't going to bother trying. Summer, though, was looking directly at him, and unlike James (Qrow mentally reminded himself to find out about that, later), she didn't seem to be straining in any way.

“How well do you know the story of Branwen the First?” Qrow asked, letting the magic fade until he was seeable again. Summer pursed her lips in thought.

“I know several versions,” she said. “There's a lot of variation, but there are consistent elements- the Crow King, the Crow Princess and her magic cloak, and Branwen's scythe.” She paused, and added, “My friend who is a historian believes that the crows and the magic were just embellishment, and that Branwen just befriended a smart woman and had a fondness for crows.”

Qrow snorted. “Insults,” he said. “The story is true- Branwen really did rescue the Crow King and the princess really was magic and she really did have a magic cloak and the first Queen of Vale really was a crow. And when she was pregnant with her first child, she took the magic of the cloak and bound it into her bloodline, so that all of her descendants would have its power- easier than having them fight over it, after all. So all Branwens have the gift to pass unnoticed should they wish, and that's how I attend the events I'm meant to without anyone realizing, and how I avoid being known as the prince. It's dead useful as a huntsman, too,” he added. “But the real question here is, why doesn't it work on _you_?”

“Hmm?” She raised an eyebrow at him, clearly amused. “Why, do you think your line the only fairy tale with a basis in truth?” She pursed her lips and hummed pleasantly, turning her attention back to the ring. “Your boyfriend doesn't seem to be doing well,” she said, effectively shutting down the conversation as he turned to watch James fight instead.

o/o

James _wasn't_ doing well. He was doing better than Port had, true, but he knew in his heart that this was largely because Glynda was holding back, letting the match draw out for the crowd's enjoyment.

He'd started out fairly well: her projectile magic was powerful, but it hadn't been able to do more than knock him around a bit. However, as the fight drew on, they'd torn up the ring a bit. This was largely him: when a blow sent him flying, he'd knocked a crater into the stone, and when she pushed him back, he'd dug his fingers into the stone to steady himself and pulled up quite a bit of it in the process. And so on- the crowd was loving it, and he knew if it weren't for his enhancements he wouldn't still be standing, but in tearing up the ring they'd managed to create quite a bit of rubble.

James was beginning to understand why Glynda was so powerful, now. He'd wondered, before, because her projectile magic didn't seem like much of a semblance. That was because she hadn't had anything to use it on- now she _did_ , and the rubble he'd created was being used as a weapon against him. This wasn't good- the stones were hovering in the air, held up by her telekinesis, following his every movement carefully. His cybernetics were sending him calculations a thousand times faster than his brain could process, but the basic gist was: there was no way he could get close enough to use his own advantage as long as those stones were there.

He passed his pistol around behind his back, using his fingers to check the chambers. Two shots left, and no time to reload.

He'd have to make them count.

Trouble was, James was a melee fighter. True, he was also a crack shot, capable of some very fancy pistol work and his cybernetics making it possible for him to aim in a hundredth the time of a normal man, but his strengths still lay in close combat. Even his pistols got more use as melee weapons than actual firearms, since as soon as he was out of ammo he just flipped them around and used the butt to hit things with. But with Glynda, he wasn't _able_ to get close, and the rocks drifting between him and her made it impossible to aim properly and get a good shot off.

Bottom line was, she had him by the balls, and both of them knew it.

But if he could distract her-

-he brought his pistol around and fired off a shot at her feet, catching the long heel of her shoes neatly (how did she fight in those, anyway?) and sending it skittering off and away. She stumbled, faltered-

-the distraction was all he needed, using the time she took the regain her balance to close the distance between them, putting all of his considerable weight into a full body tackle. This was more his speed, and it probably would have worked if Glynda hadn't spent so much time learning to keep her focus for just this reason. A cluster of rubble, rolled up into a ball and held together with purple light, caught him in the side, knocking him onto his back and sending him skidding across the floor of the ring until he collided with a raised stone. The collision was on his left side, already bruised from his fight with Oobleck, and he curled in on himself as his brain bombarded him with too many pain signals for his cybernetics to process away.

He was wheezing, he realized, and his vision was going fuzzy: a quick internal diagnostic told him he'd done some damage to his cybernetic lung, and it wasn't working at full capacity. He focused on diverting power there instead, knowing that his left lung was not strong enough to support him alone, and when that was done, raised his right hand shakily in surrender. As much as he would love to continue the fight- and he _would_ love to, because Glynda was _amazing_ and part of him was still vibrating in excitement, there was no way. He needed repairs, and he didn't have enough power to keep his body functioning and moving at the same time.

o/o

As soon as Glynda was announced the winner she was at his side. She didn't like the way he was curling in on himself, and when she got close enough to hear him wheezing she knew she'd managed to do more damage than she'd intended. There was a heavy humming throb in the air, coming from his right side, and she could feel him vibrating when she rested a hand on his arm.

“James, are you all right? What's wrong?”

“Need a- tech- technician,” he wheezed. “Please-”

“I'm on it,” she reassured, and glanced up. A pair of medics were already hurrying over to him. “He says he needs a technician,” she told them. “He has cybernetics-”

“Right.” One paused to speak to her while the other turned his attention to James and his injuries. “We have very good techs on the estate,” he reassured her. “We'll get him taken care of.”

She stood aside as they got to work stabilizing him, trying not to let herself fret overmuch. She knew his history a bit from his file, knew that he had taken far worse damage than that and walked away, knew that accidents happened in sanctioned fights and she knew, deep down, that he would be _fine_ -

-but she still worried. She hadn't meant to do that much damage.

o/o

Qrow was already taking off as soon as he realized James wasn't getting up, and he was waiting at the door when they brought him into the waiting room before he could be taken up to the palace and seen to properly. They didn't question his presence- something about the way he carried himself left no doubt in their minds that this man was someone they would not be allowed to shoo away. He didn't say much, anyway, just hovered nearby and when they stood aside to let James rest while they waited for transport to come, moved over and took James' flesh hand in his own.

He murmured quietly to James while they waited, and when the transport arrived less than a moment later, he brushed a hand over James' hair and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Get better real soon, Jimmy,” he whispered. “You still have more ravishing to do.” Then he backed away and let them take James up to the palace.

Once they were gone, he stepped outside, made sure there was no one around to see, and transformed, taking off for the palace himself.

o/o

When James came to, there was a voice nearby, droning on about something James couldn't make out. There was dim light around him, that his cybernetics were already registering as moonlight, though when he opened his eyes blearily, he became aware of another glow from somewhere off to his left, coming from a scroll. The voice was coming from there, too- a news report, he realized. Something about another attack from the White Fang- a building destroyed, or something. He hoped no one had been hurt.

He listened to the report for several minutes, while his cybernetics took stock of the state of the rest of his body. The damage from the battle had been repaired on his right side, he noted, though he was attached to an external power unit. That wasn't good- he searched for some indication that his power cells were active, and realized they were gone, mainline and both backups as well. _Definitely not good_.

He sat up. Almost immediately the report flicked off and the scroll vanished, disappearing into a pocket while the person holding it stood and moved over to him. Qrow, he realized. He smiled.

“Hey,” Qrow said. “How you feeling?”

“My left side feels like one big bruise and I can't find the power cells for my right,” he replied. “And I'd like to get them back, because I don't feel like spending my life plugged into a wall.”

Qrow chuckled softly at that. Reached over to brush a hand through his hair- which, he noted absently, was not gelled back and slicked down like it ought to be. They must have washed it when they cleaned him up.

“Glynda cracked your casing,” Qrow murmured. “The mainline cell was damaged, so they had to take it out while they got a replacement. I don't know why they took the backups- those were fine.”

“Running on a backup for too long can cause damage to my systems,” James said, almost quoting the manuals he'd had to memorize when he was given his first cybernetic, almost ten years ago. “That explains the external source- any word on when the new mainline cell will be ready?”

“Sometime tomorrow,” Qrow said. “I- they- the- the prince told them to prioritize it. Said it wouldn't do to have you laid up too long.”

James smiled, and leaned back against the headboard, eyes closing. He was tired. “And you said he was an asshole,” he teased. Qrow just stiffened beside him.

“He is,” Qrow said, reaching for his hand. “He's a selfish bastard who likes to play games with people's emotions for his own entertainment. And he only rushed them on the cell because he thinks you're cute. I don't think he would have pushed so hard if it was someone else.”

“I've always heard he was a good-hearted man,” James said softly, weariness stealing over him. He was _so_ tired.

“Yeah, well...” Qrow shrugged. “It's easy to only hear good things about someone when he has a whole team dedicated to making sure he maintains a positive public image.”

“So cynical,” James said. He didn't see the look that passed over Qrow's face at that, because his eyes had refused to stay open. He felt the bed shift and Qrow leaned over to press a kiss to his forehead.

“Get some sleep, Jimmy,” he said. “I'll be right here watching over you.”

But James had already drifted off, a soft smile lighting on his face at Qrow's kiss. Qrow's hand was warm around his, Qrow's presence reassuring at his side, and the knowledge that his replacement power cell was going to be there soon made it easy to relax.

(He suspected, too, that he was heavily medicated. That helped a great deal.)

Just before sleep claimed him, Qrow's remark about the prince thinking he was cute caught up him, but he didn't have time to devote any thought to that because after that everything went fuzzy and he couldn't think anymore.

o/o

Glynda was pacing her room irritably. James was going to be fine, she knew. She had been assured as much by the paramedics, and the only person who had seemed to have any hard feelings toward her for injuring him was the man who'd glued himself to James' side in his room, glaring hard at her while she'd checked on him earlier. She didn't recognize him from the lists of nobles, though, so she didn't care. As long as she hadn't upset anyone important-

-or James, she thought.  _Especially_ James. But she doubted he would be upset with her. He was smart enough to recognize that accidents happened in the ring.

She hoped.

Glynda moved over to the window to fret, and a black bird landed beside her hand, tilting its head back to look up at Glynda. Glynda moved her hand away, looking surprised. She knew that the Branwen's flocks were friendly and personable, and the other nobles all had stories about their antics, but none had approached her since she arrived. Now she eyed the raven curiously, reaching out hesitantly and stroking its head gently with two fingers when it made no move to fly away.

The raven seemed to enjoy this attention, and nipped gently at her fingers when she stopped. Glynda laughed softly and went back to petting.

“I suppose I don't have anything to worry about,” she said, half to herself and half to the raven. “They said he'd be fine as soon as his new power cell gets here. And it was an accident- accidents happen.” The raven nipped her finger again, a little harder this time. She pulled her hand away. “I'll just have to be more careful in the future.”

o/o

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NO MORE FIGHT SCENES
> 
> EVER
> 
> (Or at least for a few more chapters.)


	4. In Which Qrow Begins to Regret His Life Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James recovers, and then he and Qrow go on their first date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is where it stops being a cute love story and becomes whatever it is now. Also, this is the chapter where I find out how many of my readers are also RvB fans as well.

o/o

When James woke again, he was alone in his room, and sun was pouring in through the open window beside his bed. He looked around for Qrow and didn't find him, but he did spot a note on his side table, held in place by a glass of water holding several flowers from the hedges outside his window. He smiled despite the aching on his left side, and reached carefully for the note. It was from Qrow, as he'd expected.

_Hey Tin Man,_

_Sorry I'm leaving you to wake up alone after I said I'd stay with you. I had some things to take care of. Shouldn't take more than an hour or so, so I might even be back before you wake up. But if you're reading this, that means I wasn't. Anyway._

_I got you some flowers for your room, it was kinda dreary in here. Hope you like them._

_Qrow_

There was a drawing under the note, as before, this one a hastily drawn doodle of of a man lying in bed with another sitting beside him looking sad. James chuckled, and folded the note carefully to put it away. When he got back to his room, he'd put it in his toolbox with the other one.

James was only awake for a few minutes when an attendant came in with a tray of food. It wasn't the bland breakfast he was expecting, for which he was grateful- apart from some steadily-growing pain in his flesh-and-blood side, and his still-missing power cell, he was feeling just fine, and certainly not so much of an invalid that he'd need a bland hospital-room breakfast. (Lunch, he corrected mentally, as his internal clock informed him it was nearly noon.) He gave the attendant a grateful smile.

“Excuse me,” he said, “but do you know how long ago Qrow left?”

“Crow?” She glanced over at the open window, confused. “No crows in here.”

Oh right. He shook his head. “I mean the man that was in here with me before. His note said he'd only be gone for about an hour, but it didn't say when the hour started.”

“Oh _him_ ,” she said. “I expect he had to see to his duties, he's been neglecting them terribly lately. He'll be gone far more than an hour, unless he sneaks away. He does that.” She sighed. “He's not really cut out for this, you know.”

“I've noticed,” he agreed. “So do you have any idea when he'll be back?”

“No, sir, sorry.”

“Oh. Well, thank you anyway.”

She left soon after that, leaving James to eat his food in silence and ponder his situation. He should really get to work on rearranging his files on the various nobles, he decided. And he ought to send a message to Mother and let her know everything was going well. She was probably going to hear about his incident sooner or later, and it was better to tell her himself, when she could see that he was fine, than let her fret and worry. He looked around for his scroll, disappointed when he didn't see it anywhere. It was probably in his clothes, no doubt, wherever those were.

While he was considering how to deal with _that_ problem, there was a flapping of wings and a crow landed on the windowsill, something clutched in its beak. It tilted its head at him, then flew over and dropped the thing in his lap before landing on his shoulder and rubbing its head affectionately against his neck and cheek.

Laughing a little at the absurdity of the situation, he picked up the thing it had dropped in his lap. It was a silver chain, broken from some necklace or bracelet by the look of it. He made an appropriately admiring sound and set the chain carefully beside his note and the glass of flowers; the crow hopped down onto his knee and preened and hummed, obviously pleased with itself. This just got a laugh out of James.

“They weren't kidding when they said the birds around here were friendly,” James said, stroking the crow's feathers gently with his metal hand. The crow rubbed its head affectionately against his hand, nipping at his fingers occasionally to redirect his attention. “I don't suppose _you_ know when Qrow is getting back, do you?” he asked. The crow just nibbled the tip of his thumb, oblivious. “I know I shouldn't keep letting him distract me,” James went on, more to himself. “I'm supposed to be here looking for a good political match- lovers can come later. But every time I turn around he's there, and it's hard to remember why it's so important.”

The crow just hummed and set about making a nest of the blankets in his lap, pulling at them until James had a soft roost nestled on his thighs, which the crow settled into before nipping his finger to encourage more petting. He obliged willingly.

“Do you think he'd come back to Atlas with me, if I asked?” he said. The crow ignored him, and just preened a bit. “I doubt it. He said he was only in the city for family business anyway. Even if he wanted to, he probably wouldn't be able to.” He sighed. “I need to stop letting him distract me.”

The crow nipped him again, this time aiming for his flesh and blood hand, and the tender nook between his thumb and his finger. It was just on the painful side of too hard, and he pulled his hand away with a wince. “None of that,” he said. “That actually hurt.”

Bizarrely, the crow seemed to understand him: it hummed softly and rubbed its head apologetically on his thigh. He put his hand back, and got a gentle nibble for his effort. He smiled. “I'd almost think you could understand me,” he murmured.

“Crows _are_ able to understand human speech, after all,” said a voice near the doorway. He looked over to see Glynda coming in, a box of chocolates in one hand. “Mind if I come in?”

“Sure,” he said. “I could use a bit of human company.”

She took a seat at the end of the bed, holding out the box of chocolates. “I wanted to apologize for yesterday,” she explained. “I should have been more careful.”

“Accidents happen,” he reassured her. “I have no hard feelings on the matter, and I'll be fine once my new power cell comes in.”

He set the box on his knees, just behind the crow, and pulled the lid off. Before he could select one for himself, the crow reached over and grabbed one, flying over to the windowsill to eat its prize. Glynda made a noise of objection, but James just laughed. “Crows are able to eat chocolate, right?”

“I'm not sure,” she said. “But even if they're not, that's probably not enough to do more than give it a stomachache.”

“I'd hate for that to happen. He brought me a present.”

“They're funny birds,” Glynda said, when the crow started preening at his comment. James laughed and agreed; the crow gave an indignant squawk and flew away. James looked guilty.

“I think I offended him,” he said. He held out the box to her on offer, and she selected one of the chocolates, a thoughtful look passing over her face.

“James,” she said. “Do you... know of anyone who would want to see you hurt?”

What an odd question. “I can't think of anyone,” he said. “Our family has enemies, true, but none in Vale. Why?”

“I went for a walk on the grounds before our match yesterday,” Glynda said. “And while I was walking a woman came to me and asked if I would mind... maiming you.”

He looked startled. “Is that why you..?”

“No!” She gave him a horrified look. “Of course not! I would _never_ \- I told you, that was an _accident_.”

“Glynda, I'm _teasing_ you,” he said. He reached over and rested a hand over hers reassuringly. “I know it was an accident. Did this woman tell you why?”

Glynda shook her head. “I didn't ask. So you have no idea who she could be? You said your family had enemies in Atlas?”

“Yes, but I can't think of any who would go through the trouble of following me here and then leaving their plan to such chance.”

“Hmm...” She pursed her lips in thought. “The... White Fang, maybe? They've been causing trouble again lately- they blew up a building yesterday. And they hate the nobility.”

“You think it could be them?”

“It's possible.” She brought her own hand up and rested it over his. “You be careful, okay? If someone has targeted you, this won't be their last attempt.”

o/o

Qrow finally got back just as James was being released from his sickroom. His new power cell had been put in place, his two backups returned, and the medics had given him some salve that would help his bruises heal faster, along with instructions to take things easy for a few days. He took two steps away from the room and there was Qrow in front of him, grinning up at him.

“Sorry to leave you hanging,” Qrow said. “I had a lot of work pile up and it took longer to take care of than I thought.” His eyes flickered to the glass in James' hand, which still held his flowers, and he blushed faintly. “You don't have to keep those...”

“I like them,” James said. “And it wouldn't do to just throw them out.”

“Oh...” He looked embarrassed, and shoved his hands in his pockets, falling silent as he and James made their way up to James' rooms. It looked like he had something on his mind, so once they were in James' rooms, James turned to him and quirked an eyebrow at him.

“Are you all right? You seem... distant.”

“Hm? Oh. Uh...” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, refusing to meet James' eye. “Nothing... just got some.. family stuff weighing on me.”

“Is there anything I can help with?”

“Not unless you know how to find someone who doesn't want to be found,” Qrow said, visibly sagging before straightening up and shaking his head. “It's nothing- don't worry about it. How's that new power cell working?”

“Perfectly,” James said. “And when I get back to Atlas I'm having the casing reinforced. I'd rather not go through that again.”

“Yeah, that was- that was pretty scary,” Qrow admitted. “Did the docs give you anything for those bruises?”

“Some salve, yes,” James said. “Why?”

“Give it here, and then lie down on the bed,” Qrow ordered. “Take your shirt off.” At James' raised eyebrow, he added, “Come on, Jimmy, I just want to pamper you a bit. You've been through an ordeal. You deserve it.”

“I wouldn't call it an ordeal, but...” But the thought of what Qrow was offering certainly sounded appealing. He took off his shirt and moved over to the bed, while Qrow grabbed the salve and joined him.

“Just relax,” Qrow murmured, settling back and squeezing the salve into his hands. “Just let me take care of you.”

o/o

James spent the next few days taking it easy, as ordered. He didn't mind- most of the planned events were lighter and freer, now that the welcome dinner and fair were out of the way, and he was able to just hang around the estate, trying not to jostle his left side too much. It wasn't a big deal to him, honestly- he'd been hurt worse, far worse, and kept fighting despite it in the past, but as Glynda reminded him the first time he brought it up, that was because he _had_ to, and now he didn't.

So he hung around- in the gardens, mostly- and spent a lot of time talking to Glynda, and, after a very awkward breakfast, Tai, who had mumbled about wanting to get to know him better, and Summer, who seemed to always turn up where Tai was eventually (something that had disappointed Glynda when she'd realized, but she'd gotten past it quickly).

And Qrow. James spent a lot of time with Qrow, but somehow never when there were people around. Glynda had said that he never came around with her because he didn't like her after she'd hurt James (James had tried to bring this up with Qrow, once, and Qrow had left early that night), and according to Tai Qrow was 'around', but he refused to say where or what he was doing. And Qrow just said he had duties to see to, but James doubted that- Tai was always tending himself, so there was no way Qrow was doing his job.

By a few days later, though, James' muscles had stopped lighting on fire every time he was jostled too badly and his bruises were already fading to a gross yellow color, and he was able to stop taking it easy. He decided to celebrate by telling Tai he was going to be taking Qrow out for dinner that evening, earning a snort of laughter and a handwave from Tai.

“It's not like I care,” he said. “Do what you want.”

This confused James, but he had long since accepted that Tai and Qrow did not have an ordinary master-and-servant relationship, so he let it go, and went off to find Qrow to tell him.

He found Qrow out in the garden, moping while surrounded by crows, and when he spotted James, his eyes only lit up for a moment before falling back into his despondent expression. James frowned, and stopped a few feet away.

“Hey,” he said. “Mind if I join you?”

“Pull up some dirt,” Qrow said, shrugging. “I don't mind.”

James took his greatcoat off and folded it to avoid any stains, and sat beside him, leaning back on his arms to watch the crows around them. “Is everything all right?” he asked. Qrow shrugged again. “Qrow, come on, tell me what's wrong.”

“It's not anything in particular,” Qrow said, poking irritably at the dirt. “I just- I miss my sister. Sometimes it- it just _hits_ me really hard that she's not around anymore.”

“I'm sorry,” James said quietly. He wondered if that was the family business that had brought Qrow back to the city. “Um...” He hesitated. “I was going to ask if you'd like to go out for dinner tonight, but if you're not feeling up for it-”

“Hm?” Qrow raised his head and tilted it, eyeing James a bit like the birds he was named for. “Why wouldn't I feel up for it?”

“If you're not in a good mood...”

“I'm just moping cause I miss my sister. Besides, I think that's exactly the sort of time I could use cheering up. What time are we leaving?”

“Um, well.” James considered. “How does six sound? And where would you like to go? I can get us a reservation at most places, and money is no issue.”

Qrow seemed to find that amusing; his eyes danced with suppressed laughter. “All right,” he said. “Ever heard of A Simple Wok?”

“That noodle place?” James looked surprised. “I've heard of it. Supposedly it's the best place to get noodles anywhere in Vale.”

“Yep. You can take me there.”

“Okay. Not that I mind, but... wouldn't you like to go somewhere... fancier?”

“Why? If we go somewhere with a dress code I have to get gussied up, and I don't want to get gussied up and spend an evening being uncomfortable when I'd rather be out having fun with you.” He gave James a cocky grin. “You _did_ ask where I wanted to go.”

“It's fine.” James sighed. He'd wanted to wine and dine Qrow, pamper him a bit after how well he'd taken care of James for the past few days, but he supposed it didn't matter. If this was what Qrow wanted, then James would give it to him. “All right,” he said. “We'll go to A Simple Wok. I'll pick you up at your room at six?”

“How about I pick you up?” Qrow said. “I already know where your room is.”

“If... that's what you want...”

Qrow grinned, and beckoned him closer so he could steal a kiss, gentle and slow. “Trust me,” he murmured. “It's easier this way.”

o/o

At six, James was ready and waiting in his room, standing in front of the mirror to make sure he was presentable. Qrow had said he wanted casual, so James hadn't bothered wearing something besides his habitual greatcoat and white pants. A bit much for a date to a noodle stand, he supposed, but the greatcoat hid the discrepancies his cybernetics made in his shape, and hid his holsters from view as well. At least he knew Qrow considered the coat attractive on him- he'd said as much last night, right before complaining that it was in the way and shoving it off of him.

“Do you own anything besides that coat?” Qrow asked behind him.

James didn't bother turning around; he was used to Qrow appearing in his window unlooked for. Instead he turned his attention to the cuffs of his sleeves, making sure the buttons were even, a small smile tugging at his lips. “I could say the same to you,” he said, and only now did he turn. “Do you own anything besides.... that... oh.”

'Oh' was right. Qrow might not have gotten 'gussied up', but he'd done away with his habitual gray buttondown in favor of what appeared to be a much better tailored version of the same shirt, with a more complex pattern of grays and red trim on his breast that brought out his eyes magnificently. His cape also lacked the holes of the one he wore around the estate, and seemed... better, altogether. He ran his eyes over Qrow slowly, taking in every inch with deep appreciation.

Qrow grinned, clearly enjoying the attention, and stepped into James' personal space, taking James' hands in his own and setting them on his hip and shoulder in turn. Then he reached up and pushed James' mouth closed with one finger. “You were saying something, Jimmy?”

“...you look nice,” James managed, while Qrow looped his arms around James' neck. “Now I almost wish I _had_ insisted on something formal, so I could see how well you clean up when you _really_ try.”

“You'll see me gussied up eventually,” Qrow said cryptically. “But I feel cheated, now. I went through all this trouble and you just wore the same thing you always do.”

“I thought you wanted casual,” James admitted. “This is my casual.” He pushed Qrow away reluctantly. “Hold on,” he said. “I have an alternative.”

Qrow moved over and sat on the end of the bed while he rummaged around in his luggage for his spare jacket. He didn't like this one as much as the other one, as it didn't hide his holsters, but he didn't have those on him anyway, so he supposed it didn't matter. When he'd swapped into it and turned around to show Qrow, he got an appreciative whistle from the other man.

“Why haven't I seen that yet?” Qrow said, pouting a little. James smiled.

“I suppose for the same reason I haven't seen yours,” he said. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah.”

Qrow hopped off the bed and reached for James' left hand, folding it casually in his own while they left James' rooms and made their way down the corridor. James made a content noise at that- he liked the way Qrow's hand felt in his own.

o/o

They decided to walk to Simple Wok, rather than take any of the estate's cars, and they were more than an hour and a half making their way through the city to the stand, in part due to Qrow's tendency to get distracted by anything interesting that caught his eye. James didn't mind- he'd been wanting to get out and see Vale anyway, but hadn't been able to yet. Now he followed Qrow willingly, through detour after detour until they finally found their way to Simple Wok. The man behind the counter clearly knew Qrow, because he and Qrow locked eyes for barely a second before two bowls seemed to just appear before them, still wobbling slightly where they'd been thrown.

“Bon apetite,” Qrow said, pulling his bowl to him.

The noodles were every bit as delicious as James had heard, and very filling- when they'd finished eating, he and Qrow leaned back, taking long deep breaths while James contemplated just lying down and never moving again. He felt stuffed, something he hadn't felt since his real stomach had been replaced with a synthetic one, capable of expanding more comfortably than his old one.

“I think I ate too much,” Qrow groaned, leaning over to rest his forehead on the counter. “Wanna go walk all this off?”

James nodded, not quite trusting himself to speak, and pushed to his feet, offering Qrow his hand. “Do you have anywhere in mind you want to walk to?” he asked, after they'd been walking for a few minutes. Qrow shook his head.

“I was going to tell you to take me dancing but I think if we do I'll barf.” James made a noise of agreement, and Qrow side-eyed him. “You any good at dancing?”

“A bit,” James said. “I've had professional lessons, so I think I can hold my own on a dancefloor. You?”

“I've been known to cut a rug or two.”

“We'll have to go dancing next time, then,” he said. “Maybe before we eat.”

o/o

Their walk carried them to a park, which had a crowd in the center despite the late hour and the sun hanging so low in the sky. They ambled over curiously, and found a puppet show going on, a miniature stage set up in the square and several puppets dashing across the stage with seemingly no puppeteers. They would have assumed animatronics, but the puppets seemed to be made of carved wood and joined together with pegs and string- very old fashioned, and James, who had a long-standing interest in puppetry, moved closer, hoping to see how these were controlled.

Qrow stayed at the back of the crowd, shifting uneasily, but James paid him no attention until the show was over and the crowd was beginning to disperse. James moved back over to him, smiling like a child with a puzzle to solve.

“I don't know how they're controlling them,” he said. “I can't see any strings or anywhere for any clockworks to connect. It's truly a wonder! How does one control a puppet, without a puppeteer?”

“I don't know,” Qrow said, his unease crawling into his voice. His gaze was darting around. James frowned, on alert now as well. Something was making his spine hum.

“What's wrong?” he asked, shifting so that he was watching their six instead, covering the area Qrow couldn't see as well.

“I'm not sure. I feel like... something is about to happen...”

James checked their surroundings. There were only a few people remaining in the square- a group of teenagers, gathered in a tight circle and watching something on one's scroll, and a mother sat on a bench and watching her young child playing beside the fountain.

James heard the rustling in the hedges around the square first, before a pair of Ursas burst into the square. One of them was running right for the child; James moved without thinking, throwing himself between Ursa and child and tackling it. They weren't big Ursa, fortunately, and he was able to force it back, drawing it away while mother and child ran for each other, the mother grabbing up her child and fleeing. James checked around for Qrow, but he couldn't see him, and he couldn't draw his attention away from the Ursa to look. At least it looked like the teenagers had left as well-

-James turned his full attention to the Ursa, swinging himself around to its back and locking his cybernetic arm around its neck. He didn't like not having a weapon in his hand, but he would have to make do with what he had- and next time he'd definitely bring his pistols along with him. What were Grimm doing in the city anyway? Didn't the city have defenses specifically to keep them out?

The Ursa was thrashing around now, but James had locked his arm in place so that it wouldn't be able to shake him loose, and the Grimm was beginning to slow down as James squeezed the life from it. Finally it collapsed, and exploded into the miasma that Grimm were made of. James climbed to his feet and looked around, wondering what had become of Qrow and the other Ursa.

He found the Ursa first, dashing through the square after a small black shape that torpedoed through past faster than James could get a clear image of it- a bird? Looked like a bird. He hurried after the Ursa, but he'd no sooner burst through the hedges after it than it flew back, landing beside him and crushing the hedge it landed on before bursting into miasma as well. James looked around, spotted Qrow standing nearby in a fighting stance, a broken off branch clutched in his hands, breathing heavily.

James noticed that one of his eyes was glinting, but before he could do more than register this, Qrow threw the branch down, teeth bared and glaring.

“Who. _The fuck_. Let _Grimm_. Into _my city?_ ” he snarled. James raised an eyebrow, but Qrow was already pushing past him. “Come on,” he said. “We need to figure out where they got in at so more don't follow, but I refuse to go after them without a weapon in my hand.”

“It's pretty far back to the palace,” James said, hurrying after him, and noting that Qrow was heading in the opposite direction while he keyed something in on his scroll.

A moment later, a rocket-powered pod landed in front of them; Qrow tore it open and pulled out a broadsword, which he unfolded and held at the ready in one hand. “You didn't have these at Atlas?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at James. “We had them at Beacon. I got one when I had to relocate to Vale, and knew I wouldn't be able to have my weapon on me at all times anymore.”

It was a good idea. James made a mental note to get one later, and followed after Qrow. His fingers itched for his pistols, but he could fight barehanded if he had to.

They walked in silence for awhile, James keeping watch on their six while Qrow followed the path of the Ursas through the park.

They were fortunate- as late as it was, the park had been empty, with only a few stragglers hanging behind to watch the puppet show, or in any case, they found no indication of anyone having been harmed. James turned a part of his cybernetics to studying Qrow while they tracked- he'd never seen the man like this, his stance was entirely different now. This Qrow- this was Qrow the _huntsman_ , and James could see just in the way he held his sword that every story he'd told James in the past five days had been completely unembellished.

The path led to the wall that kept the outer world from reaching Vale; a hole had been blasted into it, a large one, plenty big enough for Grimm to slip through. Qrow growled softly and took out his scroll.

“Well this isn't gonna be fun to fix- yeah, I'd like to report a hole in the city wall, about a quarter mile north of the southern border of the park. Yeah. Just two that I know of, but we took care of it. Deliberate, yeah, looks like it was blown. We're both hunters, yeah, we'll stay at the wall until they send someone out.”

He hung up, and turned to James. “Not how I wanted to spend our date, but...”

“I understand,” James said. “We have a responsibility that comes ahead of dates. What did the emergency services say?”

“They're sending people out who can handle it, and we're staying till they get here in case any more Grimm try to get through.” Qrow clipped his sword to the back of his belt. He began pacing irritably, pausing now and then to study the wall. “I don't like this,” he said. “This was deliberate- someone blew this hole here on _purpose_. But why, and how, and why didn't anyone notice? If it was earlier there'd have been more people in the park, and we should have noticed _something_ from the square. I don't like this.”

James said nothing; he was studying the edges of the hole. There should be char marks, but there seemed to be none, and in all honesty the wall looked more like it had been punched through- like his garden wall, shortly after he'd gotten his cybernetic arm and had punched it in a fit of dysphoric rage, but on a much bigger scale. It made him uneasy, and he was relieved when, several minutes later, they saw a group coming toward them in very official looking uniforms. He turned to give them his best 'public figure' greeting, while Qrow made a soft, disgruntled noise in the back of his throat and ducked behind James, shoving his hands into his pockets and hunching over.

“Good evening,” James said. “Nothing else has tried to come through the hole since we got here.” His official expression faltered slightly. There were half a dozen in the group, and all of them carrying weapons, but no indication of anything they might use to fix the wall- and all of them were tense, and seemed to be on edge. He dropped back into his mask. “I trust it will be repaired soon,” he went on. “This park is frequented by children and young people, and it wouldn't do well to have them being attacked by Grimm while they were out playing.”

Now his unease was showing- the team had spread out until they had James and Qrow surrounded, all of them with weapons in hand.

“Jimmy,” Qrow murmured behind him. “I think this might be a trap.”

“You think?” James hissed back. “Think we can take them?”

Qrow snorted. “Tch. Who do you think you're talking to? ..don't answer that.”

The biggest one, a man with a short, scruffy mohawk, attacked first, and then the others followed his lead, launching themselves at James and Qrow.

James had already slipped into fight-mode, filtering out anything unnecessary while he fought. He found himself fighting in a circle created by a trio; a man with no sleeves who fought with a heavy hammer, a tall blonde woman who fought with daggers, and a man using a sniper rifle as a melee weapon. He was only partially aware of Qrow fighting three of the others- the man with the mohawk, a man with pair of flamethrowers on his wrists, and a man with an outdated cybernetic arm; a part of him noticed that Qrow kept blurring in his vision, as if he were going in and out of focus.

He wasn't doing well- he didn't have his pistols, and with the fight three on one they had the clear advantage. He could only be glad that the sniper didn't seem to have any interest in being an actual _sniper_.

At least Qrow had his sword, and he seemed to have a plan; he led his three back through the hole in the wall, and disappeared into the trees. He would appear occasionally, a blur in the branches, firing off a few rounds before disappearing again. James tuned a part of his hearing to the fight so he could hear if Qrow needed him, and turned in time to catch the sleeveless man's fist in his own mechanical hand, twisting it around while he lashed out with his right foot to knock the girl back as she came at him. He threw Sleeveless after her, sending them both flying, and then something pinged against the base of his neck, where flesh joined metal, and his body suddenly felt like molten lightning was being poured into him.

He cried out, short and sharp, and the world went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said I wasn't gonna write anymore fight scenes but apparently I lied.
> 
> The outfits that the boys wear for their date are based off of [these](http://agentoakysart.tumblr.com/post/139980493914/some-alternate-outfit-designs-for-tin-man-and-birb) concepts by AgentOklahoma, though I've made some slight tweaks within the narrative (James has both sleeves, Qrow still has his cape).


	5. In Which Summer Begins to Regret Her Life Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qrow comes out, and the plot finally catches up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELP.
> 
> I set out to finish a different wip but when I pulled up the file to look at this one I realized I only had a little way to go before the end of the chapter anyway, so
> 
> I realize it's been ages but you guys probably don't want my excuses. Enjoy the chapter.

o/o

Glynda was in her room, checking her riding crop for any frays or imperfections, when the bird appeared, cawing raucously and banging on the window. Glynda hurried over to open it, and as soon as she did the bird burst through. As it landed, its shape changed, and where the bird had been was a woman- the woman from before, Glynda realized. Glynda stared.

“You!” the woman said, rushing forward and grabbing Glynda's arm. “I need your help! Come with me.”

“What?!” Glynda yanked her hand away, still trying to process what she'd seen. “What the hell is going on? Who are you?”

“That doesn't matter!” She hugged her arms around herself, a little frantic. “Please! I need your help- it's my brother, and Ironwood! They've been taken by the White Fang- I can't free them on my own- _please_!”

“Your brother- and James?” Glynda's heart felt like a hand had closed around it. _No_! She took a deep breath. “Lead the way,” she said. “I'll do what I can.”

“Thank you.” She moved over to the window, perching on, poised to leap. “Meet me at the gates,” she said, and jumped. Glynda dashed over to the window, but she had already transformed, and was winging toward the gates. Glynda grabbed her riding crop and cape, stepped back into her shoes, and hurried after her. Before she left her room, though, she sent a quick message on her scroll.

When she got to the gates, the bird- woman- was waiting there; she fluttered down and landed a few feet in front of Glynda, flying up to light on her shoulder once she was sure Glynda was going in the right direction. Glynda hurried along, wondering whether this was a good idea. The woman had already asked her to hurt James once- now she was asking for help? _For her brother_ , Glynda thought. Well, she would save both of them. And she would watch her back, too, to make sure the woman wasn't leading her into a trap.

o/o

Summer and Tai were in her rooms, laughing uproariously at short videos on her scroll. In the middle of a video of a lizard aggressively doing pushups, a text popped up from Glynda.

_J & Q taken by White Fang_ , it read.  _G/ after thm_ .

The text was accompanied by a tracking code that would lead Summer to her. She and Tai exchanged a look, and then both were out the door, hurrying down the corridor without a word.

o/o

The world came back in bits and pieces. His hearing returned first- though there wasn't much to hear. He could make out shuffling footsteps, as though someone was pacing, and occasionally he'd hear Qrow mutter to himself. He wished he could make out what Qrow was saying.

His sense of touch came back last. He managed, finally, to open his eyes, slowly, oh-so-slowly, and as he shifted to try sitting up he cried out and dropped back down. On his flesh side, it felt as though lightning was shooting through every part of him. This was a step up from his cybernetic, side, though, because as he took stock of himself he realized he couldn't feel the motors in his arm. He tried to move it, and failed- either it had locked up, which would be an easy enough fix once he could sit up, or it had been damaged and he'd have to get it repaired by a tech. Not so easy a fix.

At his shout, Qrow came running, catching him as he dropped and stopping him from hitting his head as he fell back. “Easy there, Jim,” he said. “What hurts?”

“Everything,” he gasped out. “Feels like I'm being hit by lightning.”

“You're not far off. That sniper hit you with a lot of volts- I'm surprised it didn't fry your systems.”

James took a few deep breaths. The pain was starting to ebb somewhat. “There are failsafes to stop that from happening,” he said. “But the motors in my arm are down, I think. I can't move it.”

“That's not good,” Qrow said. “I was kinda hoping to use your robot strength to get us out of here.”

“What?”

“They took my weapon. And our scrolls. Left these, though,” he added, taking a small bottle from his pocket and setting it in James' flesh and blood hand. James managed a strained smile. His pain meds- that was nice of them. The way he felt now, he'd need the whole bottle.

“Mind taking out two for me?” he asked, trying once more to sit up. This time he sort of managed, gritting his teeth as it sent more jolts of pain through him. His arm hung useless at his side, and he let out a frustrated growl. “And then tell me what happened.”

“Got attacked by the White Fang,” Qrow said, tipping to pills into his hand. He passed them to James, who grimaced and swallowed them dry. “Or at least, a group calling themselves the White Fang.”

“You think they aren't?”

“I'm not sure.” Qrow stood and started pacing, thought furrowing his brow. “The White Fang are peaceful,” he said. “Protests, rallies, sit-ins, that kind of thing. And King Branwen is working with their leaders. He's _trying_. But lately there've been attacks, and they've not been peaceful at all. And the talks are breaking down, because the king has a duty not to give in to terrorists. But it doesn't add up...” He shook his head. “I'm thinking this is a splinter group, or something. Besides,” he added. “Those goons we fought weren't even Faunus- except for Mohawk. And you get humans working with the White Fang but always... you know, as allies. Not actual members. I don't understand.”

“Maybe some of them felt that King Branwen wasn't doing good enough to work with them,” James suggested, and immediately regretted it, because Qrow shot him a withering look. He frowned. “...I didn't say they were right,” he said quietly. Qrow just carried on pacing.

“I don't know,” he said again. “And what are they getting at, dragging us in here?”

Qrow's pacing was starting to give James a headache. He buried his face in his hand, blocking it out. “Qrow.”

“Hm?”

“Come sit next to me.”

“Okay.”

He took a seat on James' left side, and when James lowered his hand Qrow took it, twining their fingers together. “We can figure this out,” James said. “We'll get out of here.”

“Yeah.”

Qrow fell silent after that, while James thought through their situation. He wasn't sure that was a good thing, though- a thousand questions were bombarding him now, and he was having trouble focusing. And not all of them were about the situation, either- some of them were things like 'how does Qrow know so much about this'. True, he lived in the palace and servants were known to know more about what was going on than they let on, but Qrow  _shouldn't_ know how the king's talks with the White Fang leaders were going, not as well as he did, anyway.

But then, James had a lot of questions about Qrow, and he wasn't sure how to articulate any of them.

Or even if it was a good idea to ask.

o/o

Qrow had the panel off of James' arm and was trying to get it working again when Mohawk appeared, flanked on either side by a pair of impossibly tall- taller-than-James-tall- guards, each wearing either a happy or sad face mask and carrying a minigun, pointing at James and Qrow. Qrow squinted at them, then went back to working on James' arm.

“Touch of overkill there, eh? It's a small room, buddy.”

“And you two are some of the most powerful hunters on the planet. I'm not taking any chances.”

“I mean, you managed to take us down,” Qrow said, not looking away from James' arm. “Can't be that powerful.”

“We had to disarm him,” Mohawk said, gesturing to James. “And it took all six of us to get you down after we took him out, and then only because you refused to leave us alone with him. I'm not taking any chances.”

Qrow had stiffened at his words; James turned a surprised look at him, something unreadable in his eyes. “Idiot,” he said, though there was no harshness in the word.

“I wasn't letting them take you,” Qrow murmured back.

“You're still an idiot.” James turned his attention to Mohawk. “Qrow's done nothing to you,” he said. “Whatever your argument, it's with me. Let him go.”

There was a long pause. Qrow somehow managed to convey a perfect facepalm without moving his hands from James' arm. Meanwhile, Mohawk burst out laughing.

“He- he doesn't know, does he?” he asked, turning his attention to Qrow. Qrow shrugged.

“Hasn't come up yet,” he said.

James looked up at him. “What? What don't I know?”

“Jim...”

Mohawk was still laughing, but Smiley and Sadface had stopped, turning to glance at the door. Qrow and James had turned to it as well; there were shouts coming from the other side, shouts and the sound of guns firing. Mohawk's laughter broke off. He gestured at Smiley and Sadface.

“Don't let them leave,” he ordered. “I'll go see what that's about.”

He reached for the door, but before he could grab it it was blasted from the hinges and sent flying into the room. At the same time, Qrow finally managed to get James' arm working; James responded by grabbing Qrow around the waist and spinning around, pushing Qrow underneath him and taking the worst of the force from the door on his metal side. Agony flowed through him, but he shut down the parts of his brain that were processing those signals. He didn't have time to deal with them; they needed to get out of there.

“James?” _Glynda!_ “James! Qrow! Are you here?!”

“We're in here, Glynda!” James called. “There's guards!”

Smiley and Sadface had been knocked aside by the blast, but already they were climbing to their feet. Just as quickly their feet were knocked out from under them with jets of purple light; James pulled Qrow to his feet and they two took off running toward Glynda. The sounds of fighting were louder, now.

“This way,” Glynda said. “She said she'd make a path.”

“She- Summer?” James guessed, but Glynda just shook her head, not able to talk while running. He didn't ask; he could think of no one else it might be. Another hunter, no doubt.

They followed Glynda down the corridors, past fallen soldiers in White Fang masks, but... different, somehow, than the usual masks. And by the looks of it very few were actually Faunus. James was starting to believe Qrow's suspicion about them not being the real White Fang.

The sounds of fighting were louder now, and not moving away anymore. They skidded to a halt.

“She's flagging,” Glynda said. “Can you two fight?”

“If it's a group I'll need a weapon,” James said. “My cybernetics aren't working at full power and there's too many even if they were.”

“And I need to get my sword back,” Qrow said. “I'm not a barehanded fighter.”

Glynda nodded, and robbed a nearby masked figure of his weapon- a standard-issue battle rifle, by the looks of it. She tossed it to James.

“Will that work?”

“It'll have to,” he said, checking the bullet chambers. “Yes, I can work with this. Qrow?”

Qrow had already grabbed a polearm from another fallen form; he flashed a thumbs up. “Let's go.”

They took off again, this time only making it a few steps before something caught Qrow's eyes, movement from the platform above them. He caught James attention and pointed; it was Sniper, running toward the fight with Qrow's sword strapped to his back. Qrow growled. “I'm going after him,” he said. “He's got my sword and I owe him anyway. Can you manage without me?”

James and Glynda exchanged a look, and nodded. Qrow could handle himself against one opponent; their mysterious helper needed them more. They split up, Qrow running back toward the stairs and them farther down the winding corridor, following the sound of fighting.

o/o

Qrow transformed halfway up the staircase, launching himself into the air until he was high above Sniper in the rafters. He followed until had a good vantage and then transformed again, bringing the polearm in his hands down like a club. Sniper didn't see him coming, and then Qrow's sword was in his hand, his polearm cast aside and forgotten, and Sniper didn't stand a chance. Qrow left him where he was and transformed again, taking off after the others as quickly as he could.

It was always harder to focus when he was in his bird form. The world looked different like this, and his eye was drawn by too many things at once. He'd learned, of course. Learned to tune out the distractions. Learned to only focus on what was important. But it was harder, and when he spent too much time changed between it bled into his human perception as well.

But that wasn't important right now. Right now he needed to get to the others, and help. He could see them up ahead, the three fighting in formation against four of the goons from before- Sleeveless, Knives, Robot Arm, and Flamethrowers. Qrow took in the whole scene, looking for an opening, any chance to get into the fray without accidentally hurting one of his friends.

Then he saw her. Their mysterious helper- he didn't know why he hadn't recognized her before, because even in the mask he knew her, knew her like he knew himself, and anyway that sword was hard to miss. _Raven!_ He wanted to go to her, demand to know what she was doing here, where she had been and why, but before he could even think he saw her drop under Flamethrower's fire, and she didn't get back up.

Fury coursed through him. How dare. How _fucking_ dare.

o/o

James saw the woman go down, registered it dimly but had no way of helping her while he was too preoccupied with Robot Arm. Glynda seemed to have a handle on it, though, sending Flamethrower flying when a blast of purple energy. She was too preoccupied with Sleeveless and Knives to do much else, though, and Flamethrower was already getting back up, pulling a dislocated arm back into place with a sickening crunch of bones and joints.

Qrow appeared out of nowhere. One moment there was nothing there, and the next Qrow was standing between the woman and Flamethrower with a scythe in his hand.

“Get the fuck away from my sister, you bastard,” he snarled.

There was a part of James' brain, a very quiet but insistent part of his brain, that was trying to get his attention, tugging on his metaphorical sleeve and hissing “ _Scythe_ ” repeatedly. He ignored that. He didn't want to deal with the implications of Qrow's scythe, nor did he have the luxury right now anyway.

It was Glynda who finally took them out, using the rubble Qrow was kind enough to create for her with his scythe to pin all four of them to the wall. They fell one by one, unconscious, when she let them go, and then they were alone.

James hit his knee, breathing heavily. His brain was insisting _scythe_ very loudly now, and he wouldn't be able to ignore it long. There was also pain spiderwebbing all over his body, coming from the point where metal met skin, and all he wanted to do was crawl into a hole and pass out for a few weeks.

Glynda helped him to his feet, while Qrow crouched over the woman. Sister, he'd called her. James had thought Qrow's sister was dead- that was the impression he'd given. “We need to get out of here,” he said weakly. “I think I damaged my power core.”

“You just got that,” Glynda said. She sounded more worried than angry, though. He shrugged.

“They knocked me out with a power surge,” he explained. “Even with my failsafes, I wasn't made to take that many volts at once.”

“Of course. Qrow?” She looked over; Qrow had managed to get the woman awake and to her feet, her arm around his shoulder and leaning her weight heavily on him. “Are you going to be okay?” she added, to the woman in question.

“I think so.”

“Do me a favor, Raven,” Qrow said. “Next time you decide to take on an army, bring back up.”

“I did,” Raven said, gesturing to Glynda. “I thought after a dragon an army would be child's play.”

“I was allowed to kill the dragon,” Glynda pointed out. “I won't make that call for humans if I can avoid it.”

“Let's just go,” James said. He really didn't feel like a philosophical discussion right now. He let go of Glynda, managing to stand straight, arms folded behind his back. “We can talk later.”

The walk to the exit was slow, James limping along ahead with Qrow and Raven trailing behind. Glynda brought up the rear, keeping a close eye on their six while they walked. James' mind was screaming at him now, but he shut that down. He didn't have the energy to deal with any of this right now.

o/o

The nearest exit brought them out in the middle of a forest. Qrow set Raven down carefully against a tree and muttered something about scouting, and then vanished into the branches. James dimly registered that he'd turned into a bird halfway up, but he was too tired. He just set that aside to deal with later as well, and dropped onto the ground beside Raven. She already seemed to be bouncing back, retying the chord in her hair and using her sleeve to wipe some of the grime from her face.

That done, she turned to studying him openly. There was something about her eyes that made the hairs on the back of James' neck stand up- they were like Qrow's, but colder. Less raw. It was unnerving.

Qrow returned before he could say anything to her- dropped right into the midst of them, and muttered something about the area being safe. He took his flask from his pocket and dropped it in James' lap before dropping down to sit beside him. “Here,” he said. “It's just water, I found a stream nearby.”

James uncapped it and sipped the water willingly, while Raven frowned at Qrow. “What, none for me?” she asked. Qrow just glared.

“I was going to offer once Jimmy was done, but while we're waiting, how about you give me some answers?”

“What kind of answers?”

“Answers like telling me where the fuck you've been for the past year?”

“That's none of your business,” Raven said.

“None of my-?! Raven, I've been picking up your slack for the past year, of course it's my fucking business! I've had to take care of your responsibilities and mine too! Not to mention our parents- Mother won't even come near your rooms anymore and Father is blaming himself!Do you have any idea what's been happening since you left? Do you have any idea how worried I've been? _I thought you were dead, Raven_!”

He was fuming, bright red with anger. One of his eyes was flashing; Raven looked away. “I had things to take care of,” she said. “Things that are _none of your business_.”

“ _How_ is it none of my business?”

“Because it's not!” She was on her feet. “Now stop prying!”

Qrow snarled. “Fine,” he snapped. “At least you're here now..” He turned to James, effectively dismissing his sister, and gave him a weak smile. “How you feeling, big guy?”

James' had been running a few internal scans while they argued, and now he pulled out of his head to answer Qrow. “Better than I thought,” he said. “That shock they hit me with fried a couple of my wires, but the power core itself is unharmed. And the wires will be much easier to replace. I have a whole case of them in my toolbox back at the palace.”

Qrow let out a relieved sigh. “That's good,” he said. “You just got that.” He reached over and brushed his thumb over a cut on James' cheek. His aura wasn't healing it like it was supposed to; he recalled, dimly, that James had admitted to not having much of it. He sighed again, tired this time. “Think we can make it home now?”

“I can walk,” James said curtly, and, “I just can't run.”

“Good.”

There was a long silence. James leaned his head into Qrow's hand, still on his cheek. He couldn't ignore the things his brain was insisting at him any longer.

“You're Prince Branwen,” James said, voice soft. Qrow nodded. “You didn't tell me.” When Qrow shook his head, James frowned. “Why?”

“I didn't want you posturing at me,” Qrow said. “Do you remember the first night we met? When I asked why you wanted to meet the prince?”

James had put that at the bottom of his list of important things to remember about that night. It had seemed so trivial and unimportant beside the marks that Qrow had sucked into his neck, or the way he'd arched into James' touch so willingly, or the steady stream of profanities uttered like a prayer into James' skin.

Clearly he'd been wrong. “I said that... I wanted to make a good impression.” His lips twitched. “You waved that away and muttered about politics.”

“Exactly,” Qrow said. “I just wanted you to fuck me into your mattress, if you'd known you would have never agreed. And then when I got to know you...” He trailed off. Looked at the ground. Shrugged. “I just wanted you to like me. Qrow. Not Prince Branwen.” He peered up at James through his bangs. “I was going to tell you eventually.”

“When?”

This time Qrow grinned. “Right after you asked me to come back to Atlas with you. When I could be sure it was me you wanted to be with, regardless.”

“Of course it's you I want to be with,” James said. He brought his hand up over Qrow's and leaned into the touch once more, closing his eyes and sighing contentedly. There were a lot more things queuing up in his brain for attention, now that he'd gotten the first one out of the way, but he was too exhausted to think of them. “I think we need to have a long talk once we get back to the palace.”

Qrow nodded. “Yeah. We should get moving anyway. It's miles back to the city- gonna be a helluva walk.”

“Better start walking, then,” Raven said, hauling herself to her feet. She glanced around at Glynda, who was on her scroll. “Got any reception out here?”

“Very poor,” Glynda said. “But I've got someone to meet us at the edge of the forest.”

“You're a marvel,” James said, a touch of admiration his tone. He stood up as well; after a moment to steady himself, his hands were back behind his back and he was ready to go.

o/o

It was a long way back to town through the forest. According to Glynda, the vast tunnels they'd been in before were part of an attempt to expand the city once, before the Grimm had invaded, and what had once been an underground passageway between the two areas had become a refuge- and then a mass grave. The exit they'd come out of was a back way, since Glynda and Raven had sealed up the front in their initial attack.

“The White Fang have been using those tunnels for a base for about two years now,” Raven said. “They're vast and they've been shored up against the Grimm, and since almost no one knows about them they're able to avoid notice.”

“It is the White Fang, then?” Qrow asked. Raven nodded.

“Yes and no,” she said. “They started out as a splinter group- they didn't think Father was trying hard enough to meet their demands, and they wanted to push harder. The bulk of the group disagreed with them, and they broke away, but as Father pulls back in response to the attacks, more and more of them are turning to this group.”

“How do you know all this?” Qrow asked, giving her a suspicious look. “Is that what you've been doing for the past year?”

“Part of it. I traded favors with an acquaintance for his aid. He wanted to know what was going on with them and I had the skillset to find out for him.”

Glynda gave her a sharp look at that, then turned back to the path, frowning. “This acquaintance of yours,” she said slowly. Raven turned to her.

“He's the one who wanted Jimmy-boy here maimed in the tournament.”

“What?” Qrow had been focused on James, but now he turned a sharp look at Glynda and Raven, a slight growl in his tone. “What do you mean 'maimed'?”

“Only a little,” Raven said, at the same time Glynda said, “I told you, that was an accident.” Raven glanced at her, then sighed.

“I told him about your budding relationship,” she explained. “He wanted me to push things forward- he has reason to want the Branwen and Ironwood families allied.”

“I can't help agreeing,” Qrow said, eying James, whose neck turned scarlet at his words, “But I get the feeling my motives are a lot more pure than this acquaintance of yours.”

“I can assure you his motives are to the best for Remnant.”

Before she could offer more, they heard voices, and realized they were nearing the edge of the forest. Raven looked like a deer caught in headlights, and she backed away.

“I have to go,” she said. “I- I can't face him yet.”

“Raven, wait-” Qrow reached out to stop her, but before he could she had already transformed and taken off into the forest. Qrow swore, but stopped short when they heard Tai and Summer's voices calling to them from ahead. He sighed. “She was never here,” he told Glynda and James, before turning toward their voices and calling, “We're here!”

o/o

When they made it back to the palace, Qrow and Glynda insistently dragged James to the techs to have his wires looked over, despite his protests that he could deal with it himself.

“Don't be stupid,” Glynda said. “You can do it yourself if you have to but right now _you don't have to_.”

James gave up protesting Glynda, and turned to Qrow instead. Since rejoining with Tai and Summer, Qrow'd barely had a word for him. James couldn't be sure if it was his sister's words worrying him, or if he was beginning to have doubts about the strength of James' feelings for him. Was he worried that James' insistence now was down to the benefits he stood to gain from their relationship? Or- and here, James felt his neck burning hot again- was he just embarrassed over admitting to wanting a match at all?

“Qrow...”

“I can make it an order,” Qrow said. “Just get taken care of and get some rest. We can talk later, I promise.”

And that was another worry, that Qrow was stalling their much-needed serious conversation. James frowned. “Qrow...”

“ _Later_.” They'd reached the techs now, and one of them came over to meet them.

“We got your call,” she said. She gave James a look. “How in the world did you manage to get this battered _again_ so soon? Honestly.”

“It's a long story,” James said. He turned one last pleading look to Qrow, but Qrow had already vanished. James sighed. “But I'm mostly okay. Just some wires fried.”

“We'll be the judges of that.” She put a hand on his arm and led him over to the table. “Up you get- come on, now.”

o/o

Glynda didn't stay much longer than Qrow, turning and leaving once she knew James was in good hands. She hated to leave him, but like Qrow, she had some things to deal with.

Speaking of Qrow, he dropped into her awareness at some point while she was walking. She didn't spare him a glance, but slowed her pace somewhat so he could fall into step with her.

“Soooo,” he said. “This acquaintance of my sister's.”

“What about him?”

“You think you know who he is.”

Glynda stopped, and considered, then turned to Qrow. “I... have a guess,” she admitted. “I was going to see him now, to get some answers.” She hesitated, and, “You can come with me, if you want.”

“I do want.” They began walking again. “I've got a few questions of my own for him.”

o/o

Summer was in her own room when the bird appeared, dropping out of the air and transforming as she landed. Summer didn't look phased in the least, and turned to Raven with a smile. “You're okay,” she said, reaching for the woman to reassure herself.

Raven stepped into her arms gratefully, letting Summer run soothing hands over her back and sides, rubbing warmth and affection into her, and when Summer had seen for herself that Raven was unhurt, and her hands started to wander a bit, Raven let her, unclasping her cloak and sword and not caring where they fell.

“You left,” Summer said, while Raven reached over to unhook her cloak. Raven's hands stilled on the clasp.

“I can't do it,” she said quietly. “Not yet- I'm not ready.”

“He's going to find out eventually.” Summer brought her hand up to rest over Raven's. “What are you gaining by putting it off?”

“Do we have to talk about this now?”

Summer raised her eyes to look into Raven's, heart sinking at the way she could already see Raven closing herself off in their depths. She sighed. “Okay. We don't have to talk about it. But Raven.” She reached up and caught Raven's head in her hands, forcing the woman to look at her. “If you don't tell him _soon_ , I will.”

o/o

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea what I had planned for this fic anymore and I didn't have any notes I feel like digging up, so what happens next will be as much a surprise to me as to the rest of you. I hope you enjoyed the update, and I'll see you again in six months.


	6. In Which Qrow Continues to Regret His Life Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qrow and Glynda pay a visit to Raven's mysterious acquaintance, while James gets a visitor of his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -waits six months to update-  
> -updates two days in a row-  
> -drops a bomb on you for the second-
> 
> Enjoy

The techs were replacing James' wiring when the man came in. They didn't really pay him any attention until he was right in front of them, and then all of the techs were staring very pointedly at their work, not looking in his direction. James, for his part, fought the urge to back away, because it would mess up their work if they did and he could tell they didn't want to be here- with this man- any longer than necessary.

He was tall. Not quite as tall as James, but nearly. Leaner, though. His dark hair and goatee were streaked with grey; his hair hung to his shoulders and had been pulled back with a green silk ribbon that served to make him seem a bit old-fashioned. His nose looked like it had been broken and badly set sometime long past, and there were tired lines around his eyes and mouth, and a stern set to his forehead. Despite this, he seemed- good humored, almost. Like this stern look was not his _natural_ state, but one brought about by outside influence. And there was a kind of vitality in those red eyes that didn't match the grim, weary grief that seemed to hang over him.

James didn't need to ask who he was. He knew his face- knew it just like everyone else in Remnant did.

“King Branwen,” James breathed, trying to pack enough deference into his tone to make up for his lack of movement. “To, er, to what do I owe... this...”

King Branwen said nothing, merely pursed his lips and studied James thoughtfully for a long moment. Finally, he shook his head.

“I don't see it,” he said. “Why you?”

“Sire?”

The King waved an absent hand. “No no, don't get me wrong. You're a good match- an excellent match. Your family's influence in Atlas is vast, far more than your mere rank. No doubt due to your mother's actions,” he added, stroking his goatee thoughtfully, seemingly a million miles away.

“You know my mother?” James asked, hesitant. He wasn't sure he was going to like the answer, if this was how the man was acting.

“We go far back,” the King said. At the look on James' face, his lips quirked into an amused smile. “But that, I think, is a story for another day. No, you are certainly a good match for my errant son. A little better than I would have expected him to make on his own, in fact.” He stroked his goatee again, eying James thoughtfully, while James tried not to notice his tech shaking with suppressed laughter.

“Um. Sire..” James looked away from his shaking tech. “I'm not sure I understand what you mean.”

“No?” He looked amused again. “You _have_ started a dalliance with my son of late, haven't you?” James nodded. “Am I not allowed to meet the first person he's taken an interest in in years?”

“I.. suppose you are,” James said slowly. “But how do you even know...?”

“Son, I have eyes.”

o/o

Qrow was surprised when Glynda led him to Beacon, but less so when she punched the elevator buttons a little too hard for Ozpin's office. He hadn't seen his old headmaster in years, not since he'd left Beacon, but he could remember him well enough that he seemed like a reasonable person to suspect. Qrow fell into step slightly behind and to the right of Glynda as the elevator opened and they crossed the office to Ozpin's desk. When the reached the desk, Glynda folded her arms and stared expectantly at the man. Ozpin leaned back in his chair, a warm, welcoming look on his face.

“What a surprise, Glynda!” he said. He turned his look to Qrow. “And Prince Branwen as well. To what do I owe a royal visit?”

“What do you have to do with my sister disappearing?” Qrow said. Ozpin raised an eyebrow at him.

“Nothing whatsoever.”

Qrow bared his teeth angrily, but Glynda held out a hand to stay him. “What do you know about it, then?” and, “Ozpin,” in a warning tone, when Ozpin said nothing.

Finally, the man shrugged. “I had nothing to do with it,” he said. “She came to me. I merely gave her the options she needed.”

“You know why she disappeared then?” Qrow demanded.

Ozpin nodded. “But you'll have to get that from her, I'm afraid. I wouldn't worry about it too much. You'll find out soon enough- but it will be at Raven's discretion, and no sooner.”

Qrow let out a frustrated growl, but it seemed like that was the best he could do. It was Glynda who reminded him the other reason he'd come to see Ozpin.

“What is your interest in allying the Ironwood and Branwen families?”

“Hey, yeah! Where do you get off trying to make Glynda maim James like that?”

“I assure you, young Prince, that I had no intentions for James beyond light, easily healed injuries. I believed that a brief bout with danger might push your relationship forward.” He peered at Qrow over the top of his glasses. “And I was right, was I not? My sources tell me that you've already expressed interest in a match.”

Qrow's hands slammed onto the desk. “I don't care about a damn match!” he shouted. “I care about you apparently having some designs on my bloodline that means hurting Jim!”

“Your bloodline?” Ozpin raised an eyebrow. “That's very self-centered of you, don't you think?”

Glynda's light touch to Qrow's arm stilled him somewhat; he bit back his snarl but his teeth were still bared. “I could have you thrown out of the damn kingdom,” he said. “If I tell Father you've got some kind of scheme going-”

“-your sister would lose one of her only allies, never trust you again, and possibly not return as she intends, forcing you to take the throne that you don't want and simultaneously rob your intended of his inheritance and birthright.” Ozpin pushed himself heavily to his feet and limped carefully over to stand a foot or so in front of Qrow. “Trust me, young Prince, when I say that my actions are for the best.”

Qrow narrowed his eyes at the man, then turned his attention to Glynda. “You know him better than I do.”

Glynda considered. “I've never known Ozpin not to act with the best interests of the kingdom and Remnant as a whole in mind,” she said slowly. “If he says that his scheme is to the best, he means it. But...”

“But?” Ozpin coaxed, causing Glynda to shift slightly, uncomfortable.

“..but I don't know why he wouldn't tell me about this scheme that apparently involved me.”

“Glynda, you've had more than enough on your plate right now, you don't need to add matchmaker to your list as well. The injury was the only involvement I intended you to have.”

“Tch.” Qrow shoved his hands into his pockets and slouched off in the direction of the elevator. When he reached it, he turned back around, glaring at Ozpin. “You know the worst thing? You didn't even need to get involved. Me and Jim were doing just fine without you.”

With that, he spun around and punched the call button.

o/o

Once the techs finished with James, they sent him back to his room with more salve and stern instructions to _actually_ take it easy this time, thank you, we don't want to see you in here _again_ after less than a week. James just took the salve sheepishly and headed back to his rooms, mind buzzing with the day's events.

In twenty four hours, he had been kidnapped by the White Fang, rescued by a missing princess, gone from dallying with a servant to almost-but-not-quite engaged to the prince of Vale, and been interrogated by the King of Vale himself- a man who, if his cryptic hints were anything to go by, had apparently once had a dalliance of some kind with James' mother.

It was a lot to process, and between that and the exhaustion, he thought that a nap sounded just about perfect right about now. Preferably a nap with Qrow, pressed against him while they traded tired kisses until they fell asleep.

James was so used to having Qrow waiting for him in his room that he was half-expecting him when he got back, and was disappointed to find him absent. He frowned, and reminded himself that Qrow had reunited with his lost sister and probably had a lot of his own things to process. Not to mention he was the prince, and that meant he _did_ have lots of duties to attend.

It was fine. He was just busy, and James wasn't worried in the slightest. Which he kept telling himself the whole time he stripped down to his sweats and stared at the jar of salve in his hand, wondering how he was going to get it onto his back, where the majority of his bruises were.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by a knock at the door. He knew it wasn't Qrow, because Qrow never knocked or used the door, but he was still disappointed when he opened it and it was just Summer. Something of this disappointment must have read in his face, because she gave him a sheepish smile.

“Sorry,” she said. “Not Qrow. Mind if I come in?”

“Of course.” He stepped aside, and she joined him in the room. “Did you need something?”

“I wanted to check on you. You seemed in awful shape when we found you in the forest.”

“I didn't have the best morning.” He grabbed his shirt off the end of his bed, tugging it on self-consciously. Summer ignored that, strolling absently over to the window. “If you don't mind me asking.. have you seen Qrow lately?” She shook her head, still staring out the window. He got the feeling that she hadn't come here entirely to check on him, and moved over to stand beside her. “Summer? Are _you_ okay?”

“Hm?” She turned to look up at him, and smiled. “Of course! I just.. I have a lot on my mind.”

“Are you sure? If you need to talk...”

But she just shook her head. “I'm fine, I promise. Anyway, you don't need to be listening to me, you should be resting.” She gestured toward his bed. “Get some sleep.”

“I'd sleep better knowing you were okay.”

“Then you should sleep fine.” She reached over to try pushing him toward his bed, and failed spectacularly when he stubbornly planted his feet. She rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Come on, go to bed. By the Maidens, you're harder to put to bed than my daughter.”

She made to push him again, only to freeze at the same time he did.

“You... have a daughter?”

“You heard nothing.”

“Summer?”

“If you tell anyone, you'll learn first hand how I got my title.”

There were no details on record about how Summer had been titled, and she'd dodged the question quite neatly every time it had come up. James decided to take it as a threat.

“Summer...”

“Her name is Yang,” Summer said quietly. “I haven't seen her in two and a half months.”

 _Oh_. “I'm sorry.”

“It's fine.” He heard a small sniffle behind him. “I can't go home to her until I've finished my mission.” Another sniffle, a little louder this time. He turned around and opened his arms wordlessly; she took the invitation and stepped into his embrace, burying her face in his shirt. “Why did I take this stupid mission anyway?”

“I don't know.” _What mission_? “Isn't there any way to visit her? Or have her visit you?”

Summer shook her head. “No. She's best where she is. I just have to... deal with it.” She took a step back and wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. “Sorry. I didn't mean to go all weepy on you.”

“It's fine. You miss your daughter.” _What mission?_ “I can promise I won't tell anyone. That's up to you.”

“Thank you, James.” She dabbed at her eyes once more, then straightened up, cheery again. She gave him a stern look. “Now are you going to go to bed or not? Don't make me go mom-voice on you, James Ironwood.”

James looked startled, and obediently took a step back, sitting on the edge of his bed. “All right, all right.” _What mission?_ “I'll take a nap.”

“Thank you. I'll leave you alone now.”

“Wait, Summer. Before you go... would you mind cracking the window for me?”

She raised an eyebrow at him, then gave him a knowing smile and obliged. “Sweet sleep, James,” she said, waving before she left.

Once she was gone, James stripped down again and crawled under the covers. His mind was buzzing with one more revelation to process, and the long list of questions that revelation brought. He was exhausted, though, and it wasn't long before an uneasy sleep claimed him.

It was an hour later that the black bird landed on his windowsill, slipping in through the crack and transforming halfway to the floor, touching down quietly on the carpet. Qrow paused beside the bed for a moment, long enough to shed his clothes, then pulled the covers aside and slid in, tucking his arms around James' waist and burying his face in James' chest. James shifted in his sleep enough to accommodate Qrow's movements, but otherwise he didn't wake, and soon Qrow had drifted off as well, no less uneasy than James but comforted by his presence all the same.

o/o

James slept through the rest of the day and well into the night, and barely reacted when Qrow slipped out of bed and flew out the window into the dark grounds. Qrow wanted to talk to him, but he let him sleep. The techs had said that James' low aura meant he took longer to heal than the average hunter, and Qrow knew he needed his rest.

Besides, the techs had told Qrow something else, too, and now Qrow had to deal with that before things went any further.

Jackdaw Branwen was not a bad father. He wasn't a bad king, either, though, and sometimes being a good father had to take back burner to being a good king. Qrow had not had a conversation with his father in months that hadn't done with matters of state, both of them on edge during their meetings. Political tensions with the other kingdoms were high, the whole reason for this alliance festival to strengthen their ties with Atlas, and the White Fang's attacks on the capitol were another thing to deal with on top of that. The depression that had settled over his shoulders at the disappearance of his daughter hadn't helped matters at all- being around Qrow was just a reminder to him of what he'd lost, and what he was left with.

Qrow settled on the windowsill of his father's study and for a moment he just watched him thoughtfully, taking in the weary sagging in his shoulders, the expanding grey in his hair- more silver than black, these days- and the absent way he stared off into the distance rather than whatever paper he was meant to be reading. Qrow ruffled his feathers a little. What would it hurt, to tell him his daughter was safe? That he'd found her and she'd been none the worse for her disappearance?

But would it even matter? She'd vanished just as quickly, and had given no indication that she intended to return. She'd offered no answers to the question of her whereabouts. Qrow could offer nothing but the knowledge that Raven was alive, and then rip that away just as quickly. One more disappointment, one more reminder. Qrow shoved the thought away. He would deal with Raven on his own. Father didn't need to get involved.

Qrow gave it another minute, then tapped twice on the window and waited. After a moment, he did it again, and this time Father noticed. He squinted at Qrow through the dim office, then stood and reached up to open the window. Qrow hopped in and dropped to the floor, transforming on the way down so that he landed on his feet on the soft carpet. He made a reasonable pass at the usual niceties necessary to address the king- even for his children- and straightened up when his father murmured a dismissal of ceremony.

“If you're in my study in the middle of the night and couldn't even be bothered with the door, I doubt it's a matter of political concerns,” he said, moving back to his desk and settling back into his chair. “Unless it's to do with your encounter with the White Fang earlier, which you have yet to report to me.”

Qrow winced. It had completely slipped his mind, in fact, in the face of his concerns about Raven and James. “Tai?” he guessed. Father nodded.

“He seemed to think I ought to know about it. At least one of you is sensible.”

“I was going to tell you.” When he remembered. “I've had other things on my mind.”

“Are these things tall, cybernetic, and handsome?” Father guessed. Qrow blushed, and looked away. Father frowned. “I can see how you would be concerned with him,” he said. “So much so that you left him alone with the techs after an encounter with the White Fang.” Another wince. Father leveled his gaze disapprovingly. “I had gone to him hoping to speak to you both together. Where were you? He couldn't tell me.”

“Following a lead,” Qrow said. Technically true. “I wanted to deal with it immediately instead of waiting around for it to go cold.” Still sort of true.

“And what sort of answers did you get from this lead?”

 _Nothing important_ . “I'm not sure.” He frowned, thinking back to his interview with Ozpin. He'd been fuming at the time, and not paid much attention to Ozpin's cryptic words, but now that he was in his father's study- where he'd spent a lifetime learning all of the nuances of politics that he'd need to know as his sister's right hand- the words were coming back to him, and he was starting to get some red flags. One in particular. “Who stands to inherit the Ironwood titles if James goes defunct?” he asked. _And rob your intended of his inheritance and birthright_? “He's an only child, so.. a cousin?”

Father merely raised an eyebrow at him in disapproval. “You should know this already,” he said. He hit a few buttons on his desk, and the holograms appeared, showing the succession chart of Atlas' nobility. Qrow found the Ironwood title, and highlighted it, following the bold lines marking the succession. Currently, James stood to inherit his mother's titles, and after James came a young girl, a cousin through her late mother and the nearest living relative without a title of her own. Her infant sister followed from her.

“Winter Schnee,” Qrow read, trying to place the name. She also stood to inherit her father's titles, but if she inherited James' titles first they'd go to her sister. He frowned. Schnee- he knew that name. The current holder of the title was a pompous ass, or so he'd heard. Like the Ironwoods, he had far more political pull in Atlas than his rank alone, but unlike the Ironwoods, his influence was less beneficial to the kingdom as a whole.

No wonder his family was so keen to get him married off soon. The sooner James was married, the sooner he could start producing an heir or two, and get Schnee out of the running for his titles. If even half of what Qrow had heard was true, he e didn't like to think of what might happen if Schnee got two daughters into highly influential positions, instead of just one.

Of course, marrying Qrow would be bad for that. Marrying the heir to another kingdom would defunct his birthright and his titles would pass straight to Schnee. Marrying Qrow would hurt Atlas in the long run, for all that the kingdoms would be linked through the current bloodline.

Qrow groaned, prompting a raised eyebrow from his father.

“Problem?”

“No. No problem at all.” He couldn't do it- he couldn't create that kind of position. _As king, you have a responsibility beyond just your heart_. Well. He'd have to take that responsibility eventually. Qrow sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face, then moved to the window, transforming as he went and flying away without bothering to spare a farewell for his father.

o/o

Tai was reading when he heard the soft knock on his door. He stood and moved to answer it, and his delight that it was Summer was immediately replaced with worry when he saw her expression.

“Summer?” He moved aside to let her in. “Is everything okay?”

“Not really.” She moved over to sit at the end of his bed, pulling her knees up. “Tai, you're a hunter. Have you ever thought that- maybe- it wasn't worth it? Everything you have to give up and let go of?”

“Sometimes,” he admitted. He moved to sit next to her, putting an arm around her shoulder and letting her lean into his side. “What's wrong?”

“I don't feel well.”

“Do you need some warm milk?”

“That'd be nice.”

“I'll get you some, then. I'll be right back.” There was a kitchenette in his rooms; he disappeared into it and began fixing a glass of warm milk, mixed the way his father always had for him when he was feeling sick or when the caverns of depression had risen up to swallow him whole.

When he came back into the bedroom, Summer had slipped over onto her side and fallen asleep. He set the milk aside and grabbed a pillow to tuck under her head, pulling his covers up and over her. She snuggled down into his blankets without waking.

o/o

James woke feeling much better than he had, stiff but at least in the usual way. His bed was empty, which was disappointing- he'd thought Qrow had come back sometime in the night, but that must have been a dream.

Or not. There was a glass of water on his nightstand, next to a note in Qrow's messy handwriting.

_Jim,_

_I've had to take off, something's come up. Political, you know how it is. I'd have said something but you seemed like you needed to sleep._

_Listen, I've been thinking._ James frowned; Qrow's handwriting had gotten shakier here, even harder to read. _I know we've said some things over the past couple days that might suggest we had a future together, but I've been thinking and I don't think I'm really ready for a match. I mean, we barely know each other, right? And I don't intend to take on the succession until I have to. You're cute and all, but I have plans and I don't really need the distraction. So, you know. Don't bother hanging around waiting for me. Go ahead and find you a good match. Try Glynda again, I think you might have a shot now Summer's got her eyes on Tai._

_Anyway, like I said, I have to take off. See you around, Tinman_

_Qrow_

There were no doodles on this note, no crude drawings of blobby figures in tender embrace. James turned the note over and over in his hands, looking for something- anything- else, something to tell him when Qrow had suddenly changed his mind about them. James moved over to the window and leaned on it, staring out at the birds flocking across the grounds, all taking advantage of the early morning bugs. James wondered if one of them was Qrow, if one of them was Raven.

Was that why Qrow had left? The thing he'd said had come up to pull him away? (Was that even true? Or a lie to avoid talking to James in person?) Was he looking for his sister?

He crumpled the note in his hand. “Dammit, Qrow.”

o/o

From his perch in a nearby tree, Qrow was able to see clearly through James' open window. Seeing how hurt he looked was almost enough to send Qrow soaring back through his window, wrapping himself around the other, and kissing him till he forgot all about Qrow's note. But that would be bad, and Qrow had a responsibility. He gave a soft chirp, and took flight, winging his way across the grounds and toward the forest. While he was avoiding James, he might as well deal with the White Fang at the same time. At least it would keep him away from the palace for awhile- and from James.

o/o

Ozpin was staring out his window when the bird appeared. He landed on the windowsill, studying Ozpin for a moment before stepping into the room and touching lightly onto the floor in the shape of King Branwen. Ozpin gave him his best welcoming headmaster smile. The most concession he made to Branwen's rank was a polite nod, which was honestly more than the King had expected.

“And to what do I owe this pleasure, old friend?” Ozpin asked. “It's been many years since you've come to see me. Not since the young princess vanished- and since your father's death before that.”

“It's my son who's vanished this time,” Branwen said. He reached into his breast pocket and took out a folded paper. “At least _he_ left a note, but all it says is that he has something to take care of and will be back eventually. Not particularly reassuring- he didn't even take Taiyang with him, or tell him where he was going. Or that he _was_ going.” He crushed the note in his fist. “I have a feeling you know what's going on.”

“That's what you said when Raven vanished.”

“I'm still not convinced you were telling the truth then, either.” Branwen folded his arms over his chest. He was a slight man, and he and Ozpin were not far apart in height, but he still seemed to loom imposingly over the other. “He came here earlier to speak with you, he and that ward of yours.”

“Yes, Glynda and Qrow came to see me earlier. And then they left. No doubt your spies can attest to that- but if not, I have footage that proves they left my office.”

Ozpin moved behind his desk and took a seat, peering at Branwen over the edge of his glasses. It was a familiar pose, one Ozpin had taken on him many times when he was a young huntsman in training at Beacon, but despite his familiarity with it, it still had its desired effect. Branwen felt like a small naughty child, being rightfully chastised by his teacher for some rulebreaking or other. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, reminding himself that he was the King here, and Ozpin was _his_ subject- and that he was grown man, not a student.

“I don't suppose you could find it in you to stop dancing around the truth for just a moment? I don't want to lose two heirs in one years- nor two children,” he added, with a slight slump to his shoulders. His children. Had he really lost both of them? “What did Qrow come to see you about?”

“He came to ask me if I had anything to do with Raven's disappearance. I told him the same thing I've told you, tonight and at the time it happened. I had _nothing_ to do with Raven's disappearance.”

He turned that look on Branwen again, and Branwen fought the urge to shuffle guiltily. He leveled a hard gaze of his own at Ozpin.

“And what of James Ironwood? Did you speak of him?”

“Yes.” Ozpin smiled. “I expressed my support of the match- the Ironwoods are a fine family with a great deal of influence. Joining their family with yours will give Vale the stable foothold it needs in Atlas to maintain peace between our two kingdoms.”

Branwen narrowed his eyes. He knew that, it was one of the main reasons he supported the match between them- another being the obvious affection between them, affection like that he still felt for his own wife, even after all these years. Political arrangements or not, there was something deeply satisfying with binding your life to someone you loved. Branwen's expression softened somewhat at the thought of his wife, and then hardened again when he realized that he must at some point today tell her that their only remaining child had disappeared as well.

She was going to be heartbroken.

“Jack.” Branwen was shaken from his reverie by Ozpin's hand resting on his arm. He turned his best King look on him. “I wouldn't worry myself too much,” Ozpin said. “I believe- I truly believe- that your children will be fine. But you must trust in them to come back on their own. You can't force them.”

“I see.” _What aren't you telling me?_ “I'll take my leave of you, then, since there's nothing you can tell me.” _What are you hiding?_

“I'm sure they'll be fine, Jack,” Ozpin repeated, walking Branwen over to the window. “In fact, I would guess they'll be back before the festival is over. How _is_ the festival going, anyway?”

“I don't know, that's Qrow's domain.” Branwen hauled himself up onto the windowsill. “And Ozpin?”

“Yes?”

“Take care of my children for me.”

With that, and with a knowing smile from Ozpin, King Branwen threw himself from the window, let himself freefall for a moment, enjoying the feeling of the wind and gravity pulling on him, and then, as he neared the courtyard- empty at this time of morning- transformed, twisting in mid-air and soaring along just above the ground before rising, reveling in the sensation of flying.

He would never understand why his ancestor had chosen to live her life as a human rather than a crow, all those many generations ago. Being a crow was just _better_.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate title, in which Qrow is dumb.


	7. Intermission: The Tale of Branwen I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is just a little intermission before I get on to the next bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this ages ago and it's unedited, but it was meant to explain why the Branwens can do the thing.
> 
> It's being narrated by Qrow.

“All right, kiddo, have a seat, cause today I’m gonna tell you how the Branwen family ended up on the throne of Vale.

See, a long time ago, in the days before kingdoms and huntsmen, there lived a man by the name of Branwen. Now, Branwen was what we today might think of as a huntsman- he traveled around and fought monsters and helped people who needed it. Pretty straightforward, right? Well, he ends up in this little city called Vale, and Vale is being run by a tyrannical ogre, and the people of Vale, well, they’re not too happy about it, see? And they’re trying to figure out what they’re gonna do about this ogre, so Branwen says, well, hell, I kill monsters all the time, an ogre shouldn’t be any trouble. So he tells the people that he’ll deal with their ogre problem if they’ll make him king, and the people of Vale, well, they figure they got nothing to lose so they agree.

Well unfortunately for Branwen the ogre is up in his palace and he’s not coming out, so there’s not really any way for Branwen to get to him so he _can_  kill him. So Branwen went out into the forest to have a think, and while he was walking he happened to see a crow caught in the hunter’s trap. Now, Branwen had always liked crows, so he went and helped the crow out of the trap. And once he had what do you know, but that crow is the King of all crows, and since Branwen has always made a point to help crows, the King has heard of him, and he thanks Branwen for his help. Then he swears that as long as he lives, he and Branwen will be friends, and Branwen has only to ask for his help and he’ll give it.

Now Branwen knew that crows were very wise and clever birds, smarter than some humans even, so he told the crow about his task, and asked the old bird if he had any advice. And the Crow King, now, he didn’t like this old ogre either, cause the tyrant made a sport of hurting the King’s people, so he told Branwen if he could defeat the ogre, then he would be a friend to all crows, and had only to ask their aid and they would come to him. Then he told Branwen that his daughter was as wise as him, as well as being a powerful sorceress, so he took Branwen back to his home, and Branwen and the old king and his daughter sat down to figure out a plan.

Well, after talking to the princess about her powers, Branwen came up with a plan. See, the old ogre was looking for a bride, and since the princess could use her magic to transform into a beautiful young maiden, Branwen decided that they would dress in their finest clothes and go to the palace, and tell the ogre that the princess was a bride being offered to secure an alliance between their kingdom and Vale- this was back before our political marriages were decided on friendly terms- and then he’d be able to get near enough to the ogre to kill him.

The princess agreed to the plan, and had her subjects create a fine gown of the most beautiful silk, and for Branwen a beautiful outfit of the most noble knight, and never before or since have any two looked so beautiful, because the princess used her enchantments to make them so. And they went to the palace and told the ogre their story, and the ogre saw how beautiful the princess was and how rich their clothes were, and concluded that he could use this to combine his kingdom with theirs and so rule two kingdoms instead of one.

He let them into the palace and they were brought before the ogre, but the ogre looked out at them and only saw the princess, because his gaze was naturally drawn to her beauty, and because the princess had gifted Branwen with her cloak of feathers, which let him move unnoticed by the ogre. And because of this magic, he was able to approach the ogre, and then he drew his scythe and-

Schnk!

-cut off the ogre’s head. Then, because the ogre was magic and Branwen didn’t want him chasing him, he cut off his legs, first at the knees and then at the thighs. Then he cut off his arms, because he didn’t want the ogre grabbing him, and then finally he cut his body in two, so the ogre couldn’t roll after him. And at least the ogre was slain, and Branwen presented the head to the people of Vale, who kept their word and made him their king. And he and the princess were married the very next year, and she ruled at his side and was a wise queen, and Branwen was always careful to listen to her advice, so they were a pretty good team overall.

And because the Queen was in fact a crow- just a crow shaped like a human- all of their children and their children’s children thereafter had the gift to transform at will from human to crow, and she bound the magic of her cloak into their bloodline as well so that their descendants would always have the gift to escape notice if they wished.

And the Branwen line have ruled Vale ever since.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Now, the question you’re probably asking yourself is, if the Queen was a crow, does that mean that the first generation of the Branwen line were hatched from eggs? No? Well, now you are.”


	8. In Which Raven Begins To Regret Her Life Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qrow investigates the White Fang, and James gets a visit from the in-laws.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the beginning of Act II! I forgot to mention that the last one was the end of Act I. Enjoy.
> 
> (Holy two stories updating in one day, Theo!)

o/o

Qrow landed in a tree near the exit to the White Fang's base. There were other crows in the trees and ground surrounding; one more wouldn't be noticed. He dropped to the ground and made a show of acting like the other crows, made a show of cleaning at his feathers while he took in his surroundings. The crows all paid him no mind, which he preferred. Being a royal among crows was a lot easier than being a royal among humans- crows didn't stand on ceremony with their royals, at least not to the degree that humans did. It was refreshing.

Eventually, Qrow lighted near the door, transforming as he did, and peered in.

“There's no one there,” said a voice behind. He spun, reaching for his sword, but it was just Raven. She stepped out of the trees, in the mask and cloak he'd seen her wearing before. She pushed up the mask as she approached. “They left after the attack yesterday.”

“That quick?”

“They've always had failsafes, and this wasn't their only exit.”

“Huh.” Qrow peered in again; Raven stepped to the door and looked in as well. “Do you know where they went? Since you know so much about them.”

“I haven't found out yet,” she said. “Likely they're all lying low, and I can't track all of them at once. I'm trying, though.”

Qrow snorted, and took a step through the door. They'd torn it from its hinges when they'd reached it before, and Qrow was less worried about White Fang members than he was any Grimm who may have gone in to investigate. With all the carnage that they had left behind, no doubt the hide-out would have been a feast for the Grimm.

And with the way he was feeling now- his hurt over having to let go of James, the anger and resentment he still felt towards his sister and Ozpin, and the way Father's disappointed look kept swimming back into focus- he was surprised he hadn't managed to attract any yet himself.

He sensed rather than saw Raven at his back, hand on her sword and attention turned behind them. Watching his six. He turned his focus forward, and ignored the pang that this felt like their Academy days all over again. Investigation missions, working together as partners, or as a team with Tai and Syl- and god, Syl, he hadn't thought about her in ages. He shook his head. No, he didn't need those thoughts on top of everything else. He turned his attention to Raven instead, looking to distract himself before he called the Grimm to him.

“So, got any answers for me yet?” he asked.

It was like the temperature dropped about thirty degrees. He saw Raven's grip tighten on her sword.

“Something came up,” she said, voice dripping with icicles. “I preferred to deal with it on my own, rather than get our family involved.”

“You could have told me. We're supposed to be a team. Have each other's backs. Partners, remember? 'From the womb to the tomb'? What happened to that?”

“Telling you would have put you in a position I wasn't willing to put you in.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

For a long moment she said nothing, then, “Have you told Tai you spoke to me yet? Or Father?”

“No. Not my place.”

“It's eating you up inside.”

“So what?”

“You really think I wanted to put you through that?”

“What, so you'd rather I spent a year thinking my best friend was dead?”

Raven stiffened at that, then brushed past Qrow and took point. He fell into position behind her. “Tai is your best friend,” she said. “I'm just your twin.”

Qrow snorted. Jabbed a finger in her direction. “Raven, if you think there's anyone in this world I could ever love more than you, you're not just selfish, you're stupid, too.”

“Even James?”

Qrow froze. The sound of Raven's bootheels echoed around them in the empty corridor while she carried on walking, leaving him behind until he hurried after her.

“I don't love James,” he said. “He's just a good lay.”

“Bullshit. Just yesterday you were fawning over him and talking about allying our families.”

“Oh, he's a good _match_ ,” Qrow said, as flippant as he could. “And I like him all right. But I don't _love_ him. Nah,” he added, folding his hands behind his head. “I probably won't even marry him. That was really just the stress talking yesterday. You know how adrenaline can be.”

Raven didn't have anything to say to that, but she clearly didn't believe him. She reached up and pulled her mask back down. “You're being stupid.”

“What's with that mask?”

“Changing the subject?”

“Why not? Neither of use likes this one very much.”

“It's like the ones this splinter group use. I've been using it to infiltrate their ranks and spy on them.” She took the mask off and looked at it. “Not that it will do me any good now. I blew my cover getting you and James out.”

“I didn't ask you to turn up.”

“You'd never have made it out on your own. Well,” she added, “you might have made it out on your _own_. But not with James.”

“Would you shut up about James? He doesn't matter.”

“Of course he matters. You love him.”

“Raven!”

He turned to glare at her, and then suddenly his sword was in his hand and swinging in a wide arc toward her. She ducked and rolled, on her feet at his side and sword out before the Ursa even hit the ground. He blew a sharp breath out through his nose and turned to stalk down the corridor, footfalls echoing around them in a short, sharp staccato rhythm.

“We need to stop arguing,” he said, when she had caught up and was walking along with him. His strides shifted so that he was walking in step with her. “What are we looking for down here, anyway?”

“Anything to tell us what the White Fang wanted with you and James. Anything to tell us what they may be planning. Anyone who may have stayed behind.”

“You know your way around?”

“Somewhat. We're heading to the center, that's where the computer terminals will be. They're probably destroyed, but it can't hurt to check.”

“Right.” He fell back so that she was on point, ahead and a little to the left of him. “Lead the way, o sister mine.”

o/o

The first place James went after getting Qrow's note was Tai's rooms. Tai was Qrow's best friend; if anyone could give him some answers it was him.

“He's probably out looking for Raven again,” Tai said, when James explained Qrow's absence. “You said he told you something came up? He gets in these moods sometimes, goes looking for her. He misses her more than he likes to admit. Not to mention that if Raven doesn't turn up he's stuck with the crown. I guess that wouldn't be so bad for you, though. King's-left isn't exactly a position to sneeze at, you know.”

It took James a moment to realize what Tai meant. His mind shot back to Qrow's note, and he shook his head. “I don't think I'll be King's-left, even if Qrow does get the crown,” he said. “I don't think Qrow wants to marry me.”

“Why? Did he say something?”

“Something like that.” He hesitated, then decided, well, fuck it, and took out Qrow's note. “This was on my sidetable when I woke up.”

Tai read through the note, an almost passive expression on his face, and then passed it back. “He's lying.”

“What?”

“He's lying. About not wanting to marry you, I mean. He definitely wants to. I think he's just running scared.”

“Of me?”

“Of what you mean.” Tai sat down on the end of the bed, and patted the spot next to him. After a pause, James sat beside him, leaning on his knees and folding his hands together in front of him. “Here's the thing you gotta understand about Qrow. He's a _hopeless_ romantic.”

“He doesn't seem like one.” Quite the opposite, in fact.

Tai snorted. “Yeah, you wouldn't think it, but that's only cause he's the most jaded, cynical, _bitter_ romantic you'll ever meet.” He leaned back on his hands. “See, Qrow... well, he's always been really in love with the idea of being in love. But he's the prince, right? Even when he was just the spare, he's always known he'd have to marry someone for political reasons. Whoever he married would hold Queen's-right with him, and he was taught pretty much as soon as he could comprehend it that he had a responsibility to choose a spouse who would be good for Vale first. With me so far?”

“Of course. We were all raised to understand this- even if our positions were not so high as his, our spouse was always going to be important for the good of our kingdom.”

“Right. And most of us? We're pretty okay with that. We have lovers, we have bonds, we learn to treat our marriage as a business arrangement with a much deeper intimacy. But Qrow? He bucked.” Tai sighed. “He _always_ bucks. He wanted to fall in love. Oh, he didn't say anything. But he never stopped wishing, and he became very bitter about the idea.”

“What does this have to do with me?” James asked. Tai grinned.

“Everything. Cause here Qrow's wishing he could just marry someone he loves, and knows he can't, especially now that his spouse is probably going to be King's-left and it's even _more_ important to choose someone good for Vale. And then you come along- someone he can love, but also someone that _he's actually allowed to marry_. Honestly, all things considered, you're probably one of the best matches for him out of all the eligible nobles, not just him but for Vale. Your family hold a heavy sway in Atlas, and you're incredibly popular with the people. An Ironwood at King's-left? It would get rid of half the tension between our kingdom's in a heartbeat.”

Ironwood had to concede that was true. But it still didn't explain why that would make Qrow want to run away, and he said as much to Tai.

“You're a good thing,” Tai explained. “Qrow _never_ gets good things, at least, not good things that come without a hefty price. Oh, I don't mean your standard royal stuff,” he added, when James' brow had furrowed. “I mean the things that _matter_. He could give all this up, you know, and just be a hunter, he wouldn't care. I honestly think he'd be happier. But that's beside the point- the point is, Qrow is afraid of what a good thing you are- he's afraid of what getting you is going to cost him. So, he... runs away. It's not the first time. But I wouldn't worry. He'll come back. He always does.” Tai flopped back onto the bed and folded his arms onto his stomach with a sigh. “Wish I could say the same for his sister.”

James eyed him thoughtfully, and leaned back, mirroring his position with a sigh. Raven's words echoed in his head and he gave the ceiling a guilty look. _I can't face him yet_. No points for guessing the 'him' that she'd meant.

He wondered if he ought to tell Tai, but decided against it. It wasn't his place, and he wasn't sure what it would accomplish anyway.

o/o

Summer had left Tai's rooms early that morning, just as the grey light of dawn was peering over the horizon. She'd wanted to stay, to talk to Tai and confess everything, but the sweet way he'd looked sleeping on his couch had given her pause. He'd spent the past year trying to move on after losing Raven, and he'd admitted to her in one of their late-night conversations that he still ached for her. What good would it do to tell him how nearby she was, and yet afraid to see him?

And to tell him _why_?

No, she would just have to continue prodding Raven to do it herself. It would mean nothing coming from anyone else.

As she made her way up to Beacon, her gaze was drawn to a figure free-falling from the tower. As it neared the ground, it transformed, and the black crow in its place disappeared into the forest. Summer's brow furrowed in thought. What was the king doing here? She picked up her pace and hurried into the school.

“I have been inundated with visitors lately,” Ozpin said, when she came up to the office. “Glynda and Qrow yesterday afternoon, Raven last night, King Branwen this morning, and now you, my dear.” He leaned back in his chair. “I can only hope you're here to do more than accuse me of conspiracies.”

“I came to ask what I'm supposed to do about Raven.” She stopped in front of his desk and folded her hands in front of her. “She won't listen to me. I keep telling her he won't be angry- not about _that_ , at least. And he misses her as much as she misses him. But she still keeps insisting she can't face him.”

“Yes, she's very stubborn, is our dear friend. And frightened- of what, I think she's not sure. But it will take something very big for her to clear this last hurdle.”

Summer knew Ozpin well enough to know when he was scheming. She raised an eyebrow. “You have a plan?”

“It's already been set in motion. I think Raven's resolve will break very, very soon. Before the end of the festival, in fact.”

“Ozpin. What did you do?”

“I wouldn't worry about that. In the meantime, I believe I know where the White Fang- or at least, our more violent friends- will be moving their base to. I wonder if I could persuade you to check it out for me?”

o/o

The scheduled events for the day included a boat race out on the lake, and a picnic lunch on the lake shore. James and Tai went together, since they couldn't find Summer or Glynda anywhere, but neither were particularly interested. James wasn't a fan of deep water after plunging headfirst into one of the icy lakes in Atlas as a boy, and the cheery, glittering blue of the lake on the palace grounds did nothing to change his mind about their depths.

Tai, for his part, claimed to love both boat races and picnics, but every time he thought James wasn't paying him any attention his face seemed to fall and his gaze turned distant. James didn't press. The man had just learned that his best friend had run off; he was entitled to a bit of unease.

When halfway through the afternoon he made excuses and left, James didn't object or stop him, and instead made his way over to one of the trees surrounding the lake. He settled down at the base and leaned back, intending to take a nap, and then stopped suddenly. There was a man in the limb above him, watching him curiously. James' eyes watered to look at him, no doubt because of the white suit that caught the light and almost seemed to gleam.

“Hello,” James said. “Can I help you?”

He looked surprised, and dropped out of the tree to land in front of James. “Now that's interesting,” he said. “Does my feather-brained nephew know that you can do that?”

James didn't have to ask who he was. He looked like the king, somewhat, though much younger. He was clearly a Branwen- the red eyes gave him away. His hair hung loose down his back in a dark mane, free of the silver that lined the king's hair, and he lacked the lines and furrows that belied the king's age. Once he'd landed, he folded his arms and shoved them into his jacket pockets, and, with the hunch in his shoulders and the crook of his nose, he now resembled one of the birds that the Branwens took their name from. There was more than just his features, though- something about him made him seem more like a bird shaped like a man.

“You're the King's-right,” James said. He climbed to his feet politely. “Prince Jay?”

“That's me.” He moved closer to James, and squinted. James' eyes followed the movement, and after a moment they stopped watering.

“Can I help you with something?”

“Just curious.” He took a step back. “I hear my idiot nephew has taken a shine to you, and I wanted to see for myself what sort of man you were.”

James frowned. “And what exactly do you see?”

“There's definitely more to you than meets the eye,” Prince Jay said. He looked thoughtful for a minute. “But I don't see what it is about you that appeals to someone with his sensibilities.”

James bristled. “You think I'm not good enough?”

“Quite the contrary. I think you're far better than he'd want.” He smirked. There was something of Qrow in that smirk, something of Qrow in the bitter cloak that hung heavy on him. “And definitely... not what I would expect.”

He circled James, while James shifted subconsciously into attention. He couldn't walk away, not from the King's-right, it would be against every protocol that had been drilled into his head from infancy, but he didn't want to have this conversation and there were ways of dismissing Jay _without_ going against protocol. His gaze landed on a spot in the middle distance, and his posture stiffened slightly. Jay let out a soft chuckle.

“You don't want to be here.”

“Frankly? No. I came over here for some solitude, not to be insulted.”

“I'm fairly certain what I gave you was a compliment.”

James let out a slow breath through his nose. His neck was burning hot with irritation, anger, and it wouldn't do to let that anger get the better of him. “You insulted Qrow,” he said. “And you insinuate that he's not good enough for me, and you called him an idiot- twice.”

“So?”

“I don't appreciate having my tastes called into question- you speak as if you know that what Qrow and I have-” _Whatever we have_ , James thought, but there was no way he was telling Jay that, “-is more than a mere political arrangement, and yet you can speak so freely as if I've chosen poorly? As if Qrow _isn't_ worthy of every ounce of love I can offer him?”

Jay may have replied to that, but James didn't catch his reply. His heard had stopped at his own words, stilled in his chest and sucked his breath out in the same go. He struggled to focus on Jay, to pull in his words past the ringing in his ears.

“-then maybe he's the more foolish one, to leave behind someone so stupidly loyal so easily.”

o/o

Jackdaw looked up when his study opened, and turned his attention back to his work without concern. There were only two people who would enter his study without waiting to be invited, after all, and only one who would not even bother to announce himself.

“What did you do?” he asked, flicking at a screen to pull up the next page on his terminal. He flicked his gaze up at his brother.

Jay sauntered over to him, a bloody rag pressed to his nose and a disgruntled furrow to his brow. “Why do you assume _I_ did it?”

Jackdaw just raised an eyebrow. Jay rolled his eyes.

“It was the Ironwood brat,” he said. “I was trying to talk to him and he slugged me.” He dropped himself into a chair and slouched down into it.

“You probably deserved it. The Ironwoods have iron self control.”

“And an iron hard temper,” Jay protested. “He gets that from his mother, you know.”

“You deserved it when she slugged you, too.”

“You have no sympathy, do you?”

“What'd you do?”

“I didn't _do_ anything.” He huffed, and applied the rag to his nose again when the action sent fresh blood streaming. “I was just trying to get an idea of his intentions for our wayward prince.”

“Ah, yes, of course. I begin to understand.” He turned back to his screens. “If someone insulted Sable to your face, what would you have done?”

“I'd break a lot more than their nose.” He pocketed the bloody rag- noted with some small pleasure that his brother winced as he did- and shifted and twisted in his seat until he was more comfortable. After a moment, Jackdaw looked up again and raised an eyebrow. Jay tilted his head slightly. “I don't know about Qrow, but Ironwood definitely has feelings. He used the _love_ word.”

This got the other eyebrow up, and Jackdaw flicked the screen he was looking at so that it would expand. Jay leaned in to squint at it. It was the succession chart of Atlas' ruling council, and it didn't take long to figure out what he was meant to be looking for. He leaned back in his seat with a groan. “That stupid, foolish, _noble_ boy.”

Jackdaw nodded. “I think it's fair to say that Qrow feels strongly for Ironwood as well. If not love, then something very much like it.”

“What a noble idiot.”

“A romantic.”

“Same thing.”

This got another eyebrow raise, and Jackdaw retracted the screen. “You think so? And yet you would have none but Sable when the time came to choose, never mind that he was little more than a recently-titled huntsman.”

“You know how good it looks having a Mistrali huntsman at King's-right. And he was- and still is- quite popular in Mistral. It's not always about _rank_ , brother, and you know it.”

“You mean you _don't_ love Sable?”

Jay shot Jackdaw a glare at that, but his face softened almost immediately. “Of course I love him. He's my best friend. My angel. And he was the first person to see worth and value in me for who I am, not who I'm not.”

Jackdaw had been eying his brother fondly while he spoke, eyes crinkled a little in a subtle smile. At the end, though, he snapped his gaze away, back to his terminal, something distant and unreadable coming over his gaze. Jay didn't seem to notice, or if he did he hid it well. After a moment, Jay stood.

“Speaking of Sable, I haven't seen my husband in several months, so I'm going to go tell him I'm home.”

“He's probably in the library,” Jackdaw said, not looking up to watch his brother go. There was something dismissive in his tone, something distant, that had Jay muttering to himself as soon as he was out the door.

o/o

Raven was right about the terminals; they were smashed beyond recognition when she and Qrow made it to the center of the tunnels. Raven made an irritated noise, but there was no flicker of surprise on her face. Qrow didn't react at all; he hadn't been expecting any different. He moved over to one of the smashed terminals, more out of process than anything else. The White Fang were thorough- they wouldn't have left anything behind.

Raven moved over to the walls and made a frustrated noise while she began walking along them, eyes glued to a point just above level with her head. Qrow ignored her, and began poking through the wreckage. They wouldn't leave anything behind _on purpose_ , but...

...but that didn't mean they wouldn't leave something behind by accident. Qrow stood slowly, the thing he'd found held between thumb and forefinger.

“Raven...”

“Hm?” She turned around, and he saw the color drain from her face when she saw what was in his hand, even under her mask.

It was a feather, a pitch-black feather, longer than that of a natural crow and lacking in any iridescence. Their eyes locked.

“One of yours?” Qrow asked, even though he already knew the answer. Raven's bird shape wasn't big enough to grow a feather this size.

o/o

Qrow followed Raven to Beacon, through the open window to Ozpin's office to light on the floor, transforming just as they landed. Ozpin was there, hands folded in front of him and giving them one of those inscrutable looks. There were two figures beside him, one tall and broad and dressed in a black hood and dark clothes and one small, wearing a white cloak pulled over her head. Qrow's eyebrows raised at that.

“Summer?”

“Hi, Qrow.”

She seemed subdued, oddly so. Not her usual cheery self. Qrow resisted the urge to go hug her- she looked like she needed one, certainly.

Raven seemed to have the same urge, and she didn't bother to resist it- she went over to Summer and turned her, reaching up to tilt her chin back so she could look her in the eye. Summer's eyes were watering, pooling with tears.

“Something has happened, Raven,” she said. When she offered no more, Raven turned her gaze to Ozpin instead.

“Well?”

“You should probably sit down,” Ozpin said. “You aren't going to like what I have to say.”

“I'll stand.” She turned her attention to Summer, reached up to brush a stray tear as it fell. “If _you're_ here-” she nodded at the black-cloaked figure. “-then I have an idea of what you're about to say.” She turned her attention back to Summer. “It's okay, Summer, I'm here. It's okay.”

It was liked flicking a switch. The tears that had been building in Summer's eyes spilled, and she ducked her head with a sob. Raven wrapped her arms around Summer's shoulders and pulled her close.

“She's gone, Raven,” Summer said, voice a twisted, pained warble. “They found her and they took her.”

“Did they.” Raven's eyes narrowed, and she glared at the figure in black, who was backing away slightly. “And where were _you_?”

The figure raised a hand in reassurance. “Raven, please calm down.”

Raven just snarled. “You were supposed to be _protecting_ her, Junior!” She let go of Summer and moved toward Junior, anger radiating off of her. He backed away until he was against the wall. He towered over her, but he didn't seem to, not with how her anger seemed to make her expand until he was nearly cowering from her fury. “ _Where is my daughter, Junior_?”

o/o

James was cleaning his gun when he heard the voice in his window.

“Heard you slugged my brother,” it said, and then, “Whoah, holy shit, put that down!” when James instinctively rounded on the figure with his gun raised.

It was the king, perched on his window sill, halfway back out the window in flight response, eyes wide. James lowered his gun and set it aside, then stood.

“Sire,” he said. “...my apologies.”

The king still looked a little surprised, but he was masking it well; he finished climbing through the window and stood before James, hands hooked on his belt loops. He looked different than he had the day before, less regal and more like a man- an exhausted man, but still just a man. “Stand down, son,” he said. “I didn't come here as a king, but as your future father-in-law. I wanted to get to know you.”

James sat obediently, and picked up his gun again, pulling it to him to finish cleaning it. He turned his gaze down rather than look at the man before him. “I don't think that will be necessary, sire,” he said. “Qrow has put an end to whatever it was that was between us.”

The king just waved that away, and came over to the desk James was working at. “I think you may be surprised. May I sit?”

“It's your palace.”

“And your rooms.” He folded his arms over his chest, and raised an eyebrow at James. “May I sit?”

“Yes, of course.”

The king nodded graciously at that, and took the extra seat. He leaned his elbow on the desk and watched James work for a moment.

“So, about you slugging my brother.”

James' grip tightened on his gun. “I'm sorry,” he said quietly. “I shouldn't have lost my temper.”

“Oh no, he definitely deserved it.” Strangely, the king seemed more amused than anything else. “And you aren't the first Ironwood to decide he needed a good smack. I hear your mother has a hard left hook.”

James rubbed instinctively at his jaw and nodded, a little amused. “She does.”

“She taught you to fight?”

“Hand to hand,” James said. “Father taught me the pistols.”

“Yes, that sounds about right. I was watching you in your fight at the tournament, you move the way he did. Got your mother's stamina, though.”

“You knew them both?”

“Oh, yes, we were in the same generation of nobles, our paths crossed often. I'm sorry that we allowed them to drift, but such is the way of things. We had duties, responsibilities, things that became more important.” His eyes twinkled with some hidden mischief. “At least I'll be able to see them again at your wedding to my son,” he said, and frowned when James turned his attention back to his gun. He reached over and rested his hand lightly on James' arm.

“He's going to come back,” he said. “I have no doubts of this.”

James raised his head to look at the king- there was a sadness in his gaze that betrayed his words. James swallowed thickly. “Just who are you trying to convince here?”

“Well you see that's the thing.” The king pushed to his feet and backed idly to the window. “If I still haven't given up on my daughter... why in the world would I give up on my son?” He smiled, and there was something in that smile- it was like Qrow's, when he was trying not to let on to James how he was feeling. “Don't let it worry you too much. It'll sort itself out.”

And with that he was gone, one leg on the window and twisting around to face it, transforming as he did and soaring out into the grounds. James watched him go, and turned back to his gun. He'd cleaned it so much that it was bouncing lens flares back at him, but the cleaning helped keep his mind off of his troubles, so he grabbed the bottle of polish and a fresh cloth and got back to work.

o/o

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys love Jay, or at least love to hate him, because he's great and also a shit.


	9. In Which Junior Begins to Regret His Life Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some backstory, some worldbuilding, and someone who isn't dead but might as well be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I officially have _no idea_ what's happening in this story any more. "Gosh Theo I can't wait to see what happens next!!" yeah well same here buddy I'm _really_ excited to see that myself.
> 
> Also it probably goes without saying but I want to state for the record that I won't be using Raven's canon characterization in this fic. I always knew I was off the mark, and fic I start after this will take canon into consideration, but everything that I've already started will use the characterization established within that piece itself.

o/o

It took Qrow and Summer together to talk Raven down so that Junior could actually explain what had happened. Qrow's head was spinning- daughter? Raven had a daughter? Since when did Raven have a daughter? He had a _niece_? He was an _uncle_?- and he knew he wasn't going to get answers until Raven had gotten hers, and that meant pulling her off of Junior.

She sat in the Ozpin's chair, arms folded and glowering while Junior explained himself.

“I got called away,” he said. “When I came back...”

“What happened to 'I'll put her on priority'?” Raven snapped, eyes flashing with anger. “You _swore_ you'd keep her safe!”

“I was trying!” He took his shades off; there were shadows under his eyes, stresslines at the corners. His pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath, then put his shades back on. “I was _trying_.”

Raven looked ready to attack again; Summer put a calming hand on her arm and flashed Junior a glare of her own. “What happened?”

“I was up with her for most of the night.” He let out a long breath, and a faint smile touched his lips. “I was reading her that story she likes, the one about the bears.” His smile fell away, to be replaced by a thoughtful frown. “Huo came to the door and told me there was someone here to see me, a man, and that he was very upset about something. I left them with her while I sorted it out- I was gone five, maybe ten minutes at most.”

He broke off, lowered his head. Summer moved over and touched his elbow, the highest she could reach. “Junior?”

“When I came back-” He took a shuddery breath. “My apartment was destroyed, Blondie was gone, and Huo..” He shook his head. “I _trusted_ them.”

Raven frowned. “Huo...” Her brow furrowed. “The... nightingale faunus?”

“One of my most trusted assistants,” Junior said, and clenched his fist. “...Or so I thought.”

Raven folded her arms again, more hugging herself really, and stood, began pacing. “So we can assume that Huo has her?” She snorted. “You _swore_ she'd be safe if we left her with you.”

Qrow took a deep breath, and moved over to where Raven was pacing. He caught her on the spin, and gripped her arms gently, reassuring. “Raven, calm down. We'll get her back- we will. Whoever took her-”

“It was the White Fang.” Their eyes were drawn to Ozpin, who had just turned back from the window. “They tried taking Qrow, now they've taken Yang.”

Qrow looked at Raven, and raised an eyebrow. “Yang?” he asked quietly. Raven looked away.

“At this point I think it's safe to assume that the White Fang are after the succession,” Ozpin continued. “No doubt an attempt to cause a revolution when there is no heir left to take the crown.”

“That's stupid,” Qrow said. “We've got _cou-_ ”

He broke off, and he and Raven's eyes met, wide and horrified. “ _Maggie_!”

“You don't think-”

“Jay'll kill 'em,” Qrow finished for her. “If they touch her-”

“-go.” Raven pushed him toward the window. “We'll take care of finding Yang- get some eyes on Maggie.”

Qrow was already halfway through the window, transforming on the way down and taking off at the quickest route to the palace. Raven might be stronger than him, but he'd always been faster, beating her in every race they'd ever flown. He used that speed now, and made it home in record time, beating his wings against his father's study window until he was let inside. He transformed and dropped onto the floor, breathing heavily, in between his father and Jay.

“You didn't stay gone long,” Jay said conversationally. He raised an eyebrow when Qrow finally straightened up, not bothering with any ceremony.

“Where's Maggie?”

“Down by the lake.” Jay's eyebrow raised a little more. “She wanted to see the fireworks. Why?”

“Get some eyes on her.” Qrow was already halfway to the window. “We've- I've- been investigating the White Fang, we- I- think they're after the succession. They went after me- after- Maggie's in the line of succession, if they're after us-”

“Understood,” Father said, while Qrow continued to breathe heavily. He reached over and pushed the window open just as Jay streaked by, a black blur diving out the window, then closed it and turned back to his son. “Come, we'll take the long way and roust up some guards.”

“Yeah- good idea. Guards.” He fell into step behind his father. “So what happened to Jay's nose?”

“Your fiance decked him.”

Qrow decided to ignore the fiance part, and grinned. Clearly things had been happening in the single day he'd been gone.

o/o

After his visit from the King, James decided to go back to the lake. The day's events were being closed by a fireworks display, and maybe that would provide a distraction- and a chance to think about everything that had happened that day.

At some point, a teenager fell into step beside him. He didn't bother asking who she was- she had the same red eyes of all the Branwens, though her hair was silver rather than black. He sighed. Probably an offshoot; he'd heard of only two children on the main line. Jay's daughter, most likely.

“Magpie,” she said, when he finally acknowledged her presence. “Or Maggie, if you haven't a death wish.”

“James,” he said, keeping his voice as even as possible. “And to what do I owe my third royal visit of the day?”

“My Papa says you decked him,” she said. “I've come to see what sort of man decks the second most powerful man in the land and gets away with it.”

“Ah.” James sighed. Of course. It would be too much to hope that he would get away with that just because King Branwen had thought it of no concern. “And?”

“I think you're a very cruel man,” Maggie sniffed. “My papa has been gone for months, and the first time he sees his family we must tend his wounds- wounds he didn't even gain in battle. That's _very_ cruel.”

James stopped in his tracks, and took a deep breath. There was nothing to be gained from arguing with a child, nothing at all, and especially such a biased one. He reminded himself of how he'd feel if one of his own parents had been harmed, and took another breath before carrying on. Maggie followed, half-jogging to keep up with his long strides.

“You don't even deny it?”

“I don't see any reason to justify myself to a child.” He picked up the pace a little, and Maggie fell back rather than try to keep up.

“You're not just cruel, you're also very rude!” she called after him. She made a sound like a 'humph!', but it was cut off halfway by a frightened yell and a shout of “Let _go_ of me!”

James had spun around, pistol in hand, before the echo of her shout had died away. It was the Mohawk-wearing White Fang from before; the Flamethrower-wielder was behind him. Maggie was clutched in his arms, kicking wildly in an attempt to escape.

Her foot connected with his kneecap with a sickening crack, and he dropped her in shock. She ran to James' side, and he put a hand on her shoulder and moved her back.

“Stay behind me, Maggie. And when I give the word, run.” He hesitated, and added, quietly, “Can you turn into a bird like the rest of your family?”

“Of course.”

“Black?”

“As black as the cloak of the crow-queen who bore our line.”

“Then transform and disappear into the grounds. I'll keep these two busy.”

“Are you sure?”

“Are you a trained huntress?”

“No. I'm not old enough to attend Beacon till next year.”

“Then I'm sure.” He raised his voice loud enough to be heard by the two White Fang. “Go away.”

“I don't think so,” Flamethrower said. He was leaning to one side, trying to keep weight off of the knee Maggie had smashed. “See we've got plans for this kingdom, and the little girl there is in the way.”

“Shut up, Terrence,” said Mohawk. Flamethrower- Terrence- just snorted. “Look, we have no argument with you, only with the royals. You're of Atlas's concern, not ours.”

James wasn't one for arguments in battle. He fired, catching Terrence in his other knee and pushing Maggie back toward the palace when the man went down with a shout and a curse. He was dimly aware of the rustle of wings, of a dark shape disappearing beyond him, but he focused his attention instead on Mohawk, who was unfolding an ax strapped to his back while he approached. He flipped his pistol around and blocked the swing, and lashed out with one foot, catching Mohawk in the gut and sending him back.

Mohawk had barely touched ground than he was coming at James again, and everything around James dissolved to just him and his opponent, clashing and knocking back, while in the distance, Terrence staggered back to his feet. He raised the nozzle of his flamethrower. “CT, drop!”

Mohawk hit the ground at the same time the flamethrower caught light, and then a blast of fire hit James square in the chest and sent him back into a conveniently placed tree. He smashed his head against the tree and sank to the ground, and the world went fuzzy. James was barely aware of the dark shape that dropped out of the sky and landed, hard, on Terrence, knocking him to the ground with another crunch, and then the world went black.

o/o

James came around to the sight of his tech scowling at him. He hurt- his front felt like it was alight, his back like it was in a meat grinder, and his head was swimming. He groaned. He could hear arguing in the distance.

“I feel sorry for your techs back in Atlas,” she said. “Keeping you alive must be a full time job.”

“I assure you this is not an ordinary occurrence,” James replied. He tried to sit up; she offered her hand to help him and then folded her arms and stared, very pointedly, at the bare silver of his chest. His neck flushed hot at her scrutiny. Okay, so maybe it was a more common occurrence than he liked to admit. “What happened?”

“Those two White Fangs tried to kidnap young Maggie,” she said. “You took a flamethrower to the chest but fortunately your coat took the worst of the damage. You've got some minor damage to your chest but nothing that won't heal fairly quickly. Your spine has seen better days, though, I had to do some repair on your wires, but as long as you _actually_ do what I say and take it easy you should be fine.”

“It's not like I'm disobeying your orders on purpose. What about Maggie? Did she escape?”

“Oh yes, she's fine. She's with Jay now, he's not letting her out of his sight until this whole thing is sorted.” She sighed. “I suppose you couldn't help it, really. And if you hadn't fought Maggie might not have escaped.” She sighed again, and snorted. “Hunters. _Honestly_.”

The sound of arguing got louder, and the door burst open. Qrow stormed in, followed by the king, and both were arguing; Tai came in behind them, silent and deep in thought.

“You are _not_ going after the White Fang!” the King shouted, but Qrow just waved that away with a sharp gesture.

“You're not stopping me!” He caught sight of James, and his face lit up. “Jim! You're awake!” He hurried over and sat on the cot beside James, covering James' hand with his own and grinning. “Hey.”

“Hi.” James turned his hand over and curled his fingers with Qrow's. “You came back.”

“I told you I was. Just had to take care of some things. Speaking of things, I'm going after the White Fang. They've basically declared war on my family at this point and they need to be taken care of.”

“By someone _other_ than you!” the King said, drawing over to join them. His fury seemed to fill the whole room and surround them, and made the king himself seem bigger than all of them. “I am not losing _another_ heir!”

“They've got Raven-!” Qrow shouted. The King looked as though he'd been punched, and all his fury seemed to chill instantly. Tai made a sharp inhale behind them. James wondered if he was the only one who realized that Qrow had bitten off the end of his sentence. Qrow sagged. “-and Summer's daughter,” he added. “I'm not staying here and letting them hurt her.”

“Then I'm coming with you.”

“Like hell you are,” Qrow snarled, which got the King bristling again.

“You think you can order-?”

“A king's responsibility is to his people first, Remnant second, his heart third,” Qrow snapped, quotations falling neatly into place around his words. It was obviously something he'd heard a hundred, a thousand times in his life. “You go to this fight and get killed, Vale is without a king in the middle of political tensions and Remnant _will_ suffer for it. There's a _reason_ our succession works the way it does, and it's so that the transition from one ruler to the next is as smooth as possible. _You aren't going_.”

“She's my _daughter_.”

“And _you're_ the king.”

There was defiance in his tone, and his shoulders were square. For once he wasn't hunched over, making himself seem smaller than he was. The King raised a hand to his face and took a deep breath before lowering his hand and squaring his shoulders.

“I can see I trained you well,” he said. “A little too well, perhaps.”

“We both know our duty as children of the king,” Qrow said. “Raven will understand.”

“You're not going alone.”

“Course not.” Qrow cracked a half-hearted smirk. “I've already got a team in mind.”

The King took another deep breath. “All right.” He nodded, and was back to a more regal stance. “Very well. Let me know before you go.”

“Agreed.”

Once he was gone, Qrow sat down again and let out a long breath. James realized he was shaking and reached up to put a hand on his shoulder to steady him.

“Are you all right?”

“I'm fine, I just.” He ran his hand through his bangs, and reached into his shirt for his flask. “I hate arguing with him.” He shook his head. “Doesn't matter, don't worry about it. Feel like going on a rescue mission?”

“Absolutely.” James pushed to his feet, and glanced in the direction of his tech's office. “And we should leave right now before I'm ordered to stay in the infirmary for the remainder of my visit to Vale.”

o/o

James and Tai were waiting at the front gate when Qrow joined them, accompanied by Glynda. The clicking of her bootheels echoed ominously in the deep night that had fallen over the grounds, off-set by the dull, steady tapping of Qrow's own.

They'd all abandoned the flashier, dignified clothes they wore as nobles, and instead wore the slightly-worn, far more durable clothing of experienced hunters- all but Tai, who James wasn't sure owned anything but those awful cargo shorts. Or maybe he just owned a _lot_ of them- this pair had dried, poorly-cleaned blood stains flecked along the sides, so they weren't the same ones he'd been wearing all month.

“Where are we going?” Tai asked, once Qrow and Glynda had joined them. “Do you know where the White Fang are hiding now?”

“No idea,” Qrow said. “We're convening at Beacon, Ozpin'll be able to tell us that. Probably,” he added, frowning. “I don't actually know how much he knows, I had to leave in a hurry to get the Maggie thing sorted out. But if anyone knows, it'll be him. Summer'll already be there, unless she's left.”

They headed out down the street, blending into the night in their own way as they headed toward Beacon. Tai fumbled with his hands a moment, trying to find something to do with them before hugging them around himself. He looked like he had a lot on his mind.

“So- so Summer has a daughter?”

“Yep.” Qrow popped the 'p' on the end, and didn't bother turning around. _He_ seemed to have a lot on his mind, too. “Don't ask questions, Tai. You'll get your answers soon enough and I don't think I should be the one to give them to you.”

“Well, yeah, obviously! But I mean... a daughter?”

“People have children, Tai,” Glynda said. Tai rolled his eyes.

“Look, Summer and I have spent a lot of time together over the past couple weeks, I just feel like her having a kid would have come up at some point!” He frowned thoughtfully. “Though.. come to think of it, not much _has_ come up. I barely know anything about her.”

“None of us do,” James said. “Clearly that's by design.”

Once they were on the main streets they caught a bus, and in no time they were at Beacon. The school was dark this late, but there were a few students around. They fled when Glynda shot them a glare, though. James raised an eyebrow at her.

“What?” she demanded. “They shouldn't be out past curfew.”

James gave her a half-smile. “I forgot you teach here when you're not out slaying dragons or rubbing elbows with nobility.”

“Don't you teach at Atlas Academy?”

“Only occasionally. I'm a guest lecturer and sometimes substitute- though I'm thinking of taking on a more permanent position once I'm back in Atlas. I'm not able to take as many missions anymore since Mother is getting ready to pass her titles and my duties at home require me to stay nearby.”

“How are you going to teach at Atlas and run the Ironwood titles if you're here in Vale with Qrow?” Glynda asked. All three men froze in their tracks, Tai's eyebrows disappearing into his hair. Qrow shoved his hands into his pockets and took off at a much faster walk, while James looked like a deer in the headlights, eyes wide and gaze distant. Glynda shook her head and carried on walking. “Never mind, I can see that one of you did something stupid. Forget I asked.”

o/o

The ride up to Ozpin's office was quiet and uncomfortable; when they reached the top, Qrow took a deep breath just before the lift stopped and stepped back, so that Tai was the first one to step into the office. He made it three steps in before stopping dead in his tracks. Raven was at Ozpin's desk, leaning over it to talk to him, but when the lift had arrived she'd straightened up and turned around.

It was hard to say who looked more surprised, Tai or Raven, but almost immediately Raven's surprise fell away and she shifted to glare past Tai at Qrow.

“What did you bring _them_ here for?”

“ _Raven_?”

“Cause Father refused to send his heir out to face the White Fang alone.”

“Wait, Qrow, I thought you said that...”

“I didn't lie,” Qrow replied, before Tai could complete his thought. There was a long silence. Tai's brow furrowed while he thought back to their conversation from before. Finally he turned back to Raven.

“You... and Summer have a daughter?”

Raven looked away, not quite able to look him in the eye. She rubbed her elbow with one hand. “Her name is Yang,” she said quietly.

The whole room held their breath, waiting. Tai only took a moment to catch on. He sucked in a sharp breath.

“ _I_.... have a daughter?”

“Tai... I..” She stopped, and shook her head. “This conversation can wait. Right now- the White Fang have her.” She ran her hand through her hair, tension falling into her shoulders. Her eyes narrowed. “And if they think they can keep her, they have another think coming.”

“It won't be easy.” They all turned to Ozpin, who was leaning back in his chair, watching them thoughtfully. There were seven of them, counting Junior- who was tucked away in a corner checking the sites on a rocket launcher, so obviously he was expecting to be counted. “The White Fang have moved into a new facility that will be much harder to get in and out of- not to mention that there will be far more fighters there than the group you fought before.”

“How do you know where they are?” James asked. “We only drove them out- yesterday?”

“You drove them away from one base, but that was only one, and a minor one at that.” He gestured at Summer, currently leaning back against his desk. “Summer has been tracking them for me for a few months now.”

James glanced at Summer, and raised an eyebrow. “Your mission?”

She nodded. “We knew the White Fang have been planning something, but we weren't sure what.” She snorted. “We're _still_ not sure what.”

“What do you mean?” Qrow said. “They're after the succession- I mean, they went for me, for- for Yang, for Maggie...” He shook his head. “I mean, it's no secret they hate us. They're trying to create anarchy. Right?”

“It _seems_ that way.” Summer pushed off of the desk and paced. “But they're doing a poor job of it. You were right- you have _cousins_. The Branwens have always had spares, and those bloodlines are tracked. Even if the Branwen _magic_ isn't strong off of the main line, that doesn't mean that they don't have claim to the crown. In order to take out the entire succession, they'd have to take out the _entire_ Branwen family- that's a lot of people, and they'd be smarter to start with the lower branches _first_ , before going for the main lines. So what are they after?”

“Is it possible they're trying to put someone specific on the throne?” James suggested. “Who gets the crown if it passes through Maggie?”

Qrow and Raven exchanged a look packed with meaning, but it was covered almost immediately. “Rook?” Qrow asked. “You were always better at the lines than I was- is it Rook or Chuff?”

“Chuff's older, but he married into the Mistrali line last year so it'd go to Rook.”

Glynda snorted. “I'm beginning to understand why the Branwens never reveal the names of their individual family members to the public. Do you think this Rook could be involved?”

Qrow shook his head. “Last I heard from her she was in Mantel, up to her ears in ruins and loving every minute of it.”

“Oh, _that_ Rook.” James smiled briefly. “I doubt she's involved- unless she's a very good actress.”

“We can't rule out the possibility of a takeover,” Glynda said. “But I think it's fair to say that it probably _isn't_. Do you think they just want to get rid of the main lines?”

“What if they're just trying to cause disorder?” James suggested. “Take out the main line and plunge the kingdoms into chaos while they try to regroup?” He nodded to Qrow. “You said yourself that it was a risk.”

“A risk, but not one worth the amount of trouble they're going through.”

“Unless they have another use for disorder,” Ozpin said. They all turned their attention to him. He stood and moved heavily over to a chessboard set up in his office, the pieces set up partway through a game. He seemed unaware of them. “I wonder...”

“Professor Ozpin?”

“Hm?” He turned; Glynda had approached, keeping a small distance. “Oh, Glynda. Don't mind me- just speculating.” He returned his attention to them. “For the moment, I think our main priority should be retrieving young Yang from their hands. We can figure out their motives once we've done so.”

“Assuming we're not playing into their hands,” Junior said. He collapsed his rocket launcher to a bat and stood, throwing it over his shoulder. “But for Blondie that's a risk I'm willing to take.”

The others all looked at each other. Tai jabbed his thumb over his shoulder at Junior. “Who's this guy?”

“Ever hear of Hei Xong?”

“Hei Xong?” Tai's eyebrows shot up. “He runs Vale's underworld.”

“He's also Yang's babysitter.” Raven turned to glare at him. “At least he _was_ before he let her get _kidnapped_.”

“Are you going to yell at me, or are we going to go get her? What's the plan?”

They all turned to look at Ozpin. His eyes glittered and danced with mischief.

“Yes, about that.”

o/o

Roman scowled and watched CT pace the length of his office at the new base. He was heavily bandaged and he looked angry, and Roman could understand why. He'd lost four of his most trusted lieutenants to this mission. Replacing them was going to be a crapshoot, even if he didn't keep referring to them as his friends.

“I don't know what you were expecting,” Roman said, watching him pace. “Did you really think you could just sneak onto the grounds and walk away with the second princess _without_ loss of life?”

“Terrence isn't _dead_ ,” CT snapped. “But he might as well be after what that royal bastard did to him. He looks like he got a building dropped on him- it'll be a miracle if he ever walks again.”

“I ask you again- exactly _what_ were you expecting to happen?”

CT just shot him a glare, and carried on pacing. Roman decided to try another track.

“They're going to come after you, you know. You kidnapped a _baby_.”

“We need her.”

“Oh sweet maiden of spring give me strength,” Roman said, turning his gaze skyward for a moment. “Listen to me. You just kidnapped the daughter of the _kingdom's heir_. Do you understand what you've done? What you've just called down on yourself? Three of your most trusted lieutenants are dead and the other is- as you say- as good as. This isn't just some mission anymore- you've _declared war on the royal family_. Do you realize that?”

“Don't worry, you'll still get paid.”

“Oh I'm aware,” Roman said. “Because I've fulfilled my end of our deal, and now you're going to pay me and I'm going to leave. I don't have any intention of staying around here to get killed when you bring the wrath of the royals down on your head.”

“Fine.” CT moved over to the safe and began working it open. “We could have used your help to deal with the rescue when it comes.”

“That's too bad for you, but I've got a family to look after, and I don't plan on leaving my girl an orphan. My money?”

“Here.” He dropped the money onto the table beside Roman. “Take it and go- and I don't want to see your face again.”

“No arguments here.”

o/o

Roman sighed happily as he made his way through the base to the hidden exit that would take him into the heart of Vale. Once he was out he'd go grab Neo and the two could disappear- he had a feeling Vale would not be a safe place for them soon, and he had no intention of staying there for long. He was good at disappearing, at least- he could be out of Vale and on his way to the next kingdom in no time.

Maybe they'd go to Atlas, he thought. Atlas was famous for their order and their adherence to strict law, but in Roman's experience the more strict the law the easier it was to find an underground worth taking advantage of. After all, laws were heavy things and only existed to tempt people to lives of crime. A man who knew his game could take advantage of such an atmosphere for quite some time if he needed to.

Roman tapped his pocket, feeling the lien tucked away in it. On the other hand, he had enough now that he and Neo could live comfortably for years before they'd need to start working again. He could take some time off to take care of her, if they budgeted carefully she'd be in grade school by the time he had to go back to working again. He could give her a proper childhood, the kind her parents had wanted for her, the kind Roman really wanted to give her. He tapped his pocket again. And then what, though? If he left the game for that long, it would be hell to get back in. No, he'd have to find some other way to give her a normal childhood.

Ah well, he'd think of something.

In the meantime, maybe he could earn a little extra money out of CT by taking care of a little best problem for him. A sneaky smile spread across Roman's face and he stepped into the doorway, blocking the path of the crow that had just dropped into the room through a small ventilation window near the ceiling.

“Well hello there,” he said. “I'd address you properly, but I honestly have no idea how to tell the difference between boy crows and girl crows. So I'll just call you _royal brat_.”

o/o

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know. When I started writing this story James was going to get engaged to Tai because he thought Qrow was a servant and Qrow was going to get upset because how dare. How did I get from that to this?


End file.
